A Useful and Very Short Guide for Braces Users on Dental Hygiene

Isn’t it fun to remember when you were a child, and you had your dentist telling you to brush your teeth every day, or you might lose your teeth? You might as well grow up listening to your dentist and at school that you must do this and do that to avoid dental issues.

Well, it isn’t that fun to remember when you’ve had that intense and acute tooth pain, and after a dental check, the dentist tells you he needs to refer you to the endodontist to get a root canal. But pain is the brain signaling there is a problem in your tooth.

But what causes all of this? After meals, food particles accumulate in entrenched areas of your teeth. When bacteria process, these residues form acids that erode the enamel layer of a tooth. As patients skip brushing and flossing, bacteria penetrate further teeth layers.

Now, can you imagine what it takes to have braces and eliminate those food residues? Yeap, we agree it isn’t very easy. Patients with braces must spend more time following a detailed protocol to have their mouths clean.

In this article, we will try to make your life easier by giving you some pieces of advice you can copy, paste, print, and stick on your sink mirror on how to practice good oral hygiene during braces treatment.

How to Thoroughly Clean My Teeth While Wearing Braces?

We might be a little detailed here, but let’s face it. We don’t really take dental caries or gum disease very seriously until we have this unbearable tooth pain. Not to mention having braces complicates things a bit. So, let’s start with these oral hygiene instructions for orthodontic patients. 

Brush Your Teeth After Meals

This is a little repetitive. You can hear “brush your teeth” from many people all the time. But what it takes to brush your teeth with braces properly? Here we include details for you.

Toothbrush

Choose a soft bristles toothbrush and replace it every two to three months.

Toothpaste

Use little toothpaste. This helps you see food particles and debris stuck between teeth and wires or inside the brackets’ crannies.

Brushing Duration

Spend at least one minute brushing each mouth quadrant. Use circular movements to clean front teeth. Then for a detailed cleanup, make up and down movements with your toothbrush, clearing the spaces with debris. Visually identify any left area, try to unclog food residues, and repeat the process.

Floss Thoroughly

This might be the most detailed part of all. Dental Floss with braces requires patients to use special dental utensils and give attention to minutia.

Interdental Brushing

This little part is quite different regarding oral hygiene for non-braces dental patients and orthodontic braces patients. If you are part of the second group, we highly recommend you talk to your dentist; she will help you define the appropriate flosser length for you.

But we almost forgot. What exactly is an interdental brush? This little thing is a miniature brush with a handle on one side, so you can grab it and maneuver it with your index and thumb fingertips.

Once you hold the toothbrush, insert it between your teeth, especially in those spaces between the bracket and the gums, making back-and-forth movements. This will help the side brushes mechanically remove debris in those places you won’t be able to get with a regular flosser.

Water Splashing

We like how “splashing” sounds, but let’s get serious; what we really meant to say is water irrigator. Sometimes despite brushing and flossing thoroughly, you might still feel some residues in your mouth.

A water irrigator is the right tool to unclog those unpleasant residues in your brackets or stuck between your wires and teeth. Just grab the handle, press the spray button, direct the water splash to the desired area, and voilà, the dirt goes away.

Use Mouthwash

A mouthwash won’t help you remove debris or food particles, but it will kill a big deal of the bacteria in your mouth, and that is good, isn’t it?

Visit Your Dentist, Seriously Do It

Sometimes we underestimate the importance of dental cleanups at the dentist’s office, but you have to believe us, it is crucial to visit an oral hygienist or dentist at least twice a year for a professional cleaning.

What Happens if You Don’t Brush Your Teeth While You Have Braces?

The answer to this question is straightforward. Not brushing or practicing good oral hygiene, in general, delays treatment time due to the intrinsic nature of the apparatus in your mouth

Poor hygiene promotes a more considerable food accumulation than in a non-braces wearer, consequentially more bacteria, and proneness to tooth decay, plaque, periodontitis, and an infectious process that could spread to the bone.

We might also mention orthodontic treatment with braces requires that patients, during treatment, refrain from eating sugary foods or limit to the best possible sugar intake from soft drinks and high-acid foods.

Orthodontics in Kaneohe That Comprise a Full Extent Oral Care

At Hawaiian Orthodontics, we guide our patients through the entire dental care process needed to complete treatment, including exceptional oral hygiene satisfactorily.

Visit us or schedule an appointment. Our caring staff will be glad to assist you in starting the journey to get the smile you always wanted and, most importantly, in a safe manner.