Wearing braces comes with a lot of responsibility. If not cared for properly braces can cause a dangerous and painful experience. Here are some tips for maintaining clean and hygienic braces:
- Brush your teeth – Brushing your teeth twice helps remove stubborn plaque and bacteria. It is important to spend time ensuring that ares hidden underneath braces are brushed as this can be a hiding place for bacteria to develop. There are certain products that you’r orthodontist may recommend to improve the quality of your brushing such as special chewy tablets that temporarily colour plaque so you can see where to concentrate your brushing. Brushing your teeth should take a minimum of two minutes. There are many brushing products on the market such as interdental brushes that can help people with braces look after their teeth.
- Use dental floss – there are some places that your brush is simply to big to reach. It is important not to forget about these areas. Use dental floss to help you reach these areas. Your orthodontist may recommend that you use other products such as interdental brushes for the same purpose.
- Watch what you eat – it is important for everyone, not only people who wear braces to reduce the amount of sugary food they eat. This is because excessive sugary food encourages the growth of bacteria in teeth, which can lead to an array of dental problems.
- Be careful with hard foods – chewing hard foods such as hard-boiled sweets and chewing gum can break pieces of the brace or become stuck underneath the brace. Fixing this can be unnecessary, time consuming and costly. These foods should be avoided. Certain hard foods such as carrots and apples can still be enjoyed if the way they are prepared is adjusted. For example, steamed carrots are a safe alternative for whole raw carrot. You may find that when you first get braces you will struggle to chew solid food altogether. Eating soft foods such as soups and mashed potato until you get use to harder foods is a good idea. Read this page for information on how to eat an apple with braces.
- Look after your lips – keeping your lips moisturised will help you feel more comfortable. You should always carry lip balm on you and apply it whenever your lips feel dry.
If you have any other questions when it comes to caring for your braces your orthodontist, dentist or dental hygienist will be able to direct you to useful information.
Why is looking after your teeth while wearing braces perceived by many as being difficult?
The extra wires and different products on the market available for those who wear braces can make looking after your braces seem confusing.
You have to get into a new routine. This way you will avoid getting into bad habits that will cause you to not look after your braces and will lead to problems developing.
How to brush your teeth when wearing braces:
Brushing your teeth is essential to maintaining a healthy set of braces. Your brushing techniques doesn’t need to change that much once you get braces however since there is more area for bacteria to develop you need to spend extra time and effort ensuring that you do not miss any spots.
For more information on brushing your teeth with braces have a look at the guide that we, medi-compare have produced on brushing your teeth wile wearing braces.
Not brushing your teeth properly with braces can cause more damage to your teeth then you may expect. If you don’t burns your teeth and you get braces then you could have white or brown spots developing on your teeth.
If you are confused about brushing your teeth with braces then you should let your orthodontist or your dental hygienist know as they will be able to teach you how to brush your teeth properly.
Using a Proxy Brush to look after braces
A lot of people struggle to reach all areas of their teeth when brushing and wearing braces. It is very important to reach all areas with as not doing so will allow plaque and bacteria to develop, which can cause various conditions such as tooth infections to develop.
Proxy brushes can help you reach hidden areas that you otherwise will not be able to reach.
Using a proxy brush isn’t difficult however many people are confused because it looks different.
For further information on how to use a proxy brush properly, have a look at this video:
It is usually very easy to find proxy brushes. Most orthodontists stock them. Otherwise, they are available at many pharmacists and online.
Why not to be freaked out with all this new information
Although this may seem like a mountain of information it is important not to become overwhelmed by the different things you need to do to care for your braces. As you get into a routine, caring for your braces will become second nature.
However, it is essential that you get into this routine as it will help you begin a pain free experience of having braces.
