How Can I Care for My Oral Health with Braces?

In the long run, straightening your smile with braces can help out your oral health by making your teeth easier to clean once your treatment is complete. While you’re wearing your braces, however, it can be a bit tricky making sure your teeth stay squeaky clean and healthy. This isn’t saying anything about you in particular! In general, it takes a little more effort to clean around the wires and brackets of braces than if they weren’t on your teeth. Don’t worry though. You’ll be just fine by keeping these tips in mind:

Tips for Brushing

While its standard practice to brush your teeth twice a day (most likely in the morning when you wake up and at night before you go to bed), you might want to get into the habit of brushing your teeth after meals and snacks if you can. That way you take care of any food particles trapped in your braces as soon as possible so they don’t have time to turn into problems like plaque.

When you’re brushing, use a soft-bristled toothbrush and remember to thoroughly clean around your brackets. You should brush at an angle over the top of and under your brackets to ensure you’re getting rid of anything that might be stuck there.

Tips for Flossing

Don’t skip out on the flossing if you have braces! If you’re having trouble getting around your braces’ wires, get a floss threader, which helps you thread the floss underneath the wire and more easily glide it between your teeth.

If you’ve ever been curious about using another type of dental cleaning tool like a water flosser or an interdental cleaner, now would be a great time to check it out. Both of these can be a bit of extra help for cleaning those hard-to-reach areas created by braces!

Six Month Smiles At Chesterfield Dentistry

At Chesterfield Dentistry, we’re proud providers of Six Month Smiles, a type of accelerated braces, so we’re well-versed in what it takes to have great oral health all throughout your orthodontic treatment. If you’d like some extra tips about caring for your teeth when wearing braces, don’t hesitate to contact us!

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