Now that your braces are in place, it is very important to maintain a good oral hygiene regimen throughout the length of your treatment. Braces, wires, bands and retainers can all trap food particles and make it difficult to brush or floss away plaque. Careful brushing and flossing, preferably after every meal and snack, is the best way to prevent plaque build-up, tooth decay and gum disease.
To avoid these problems while you are in orthodontic treatment, take special care of your braces, teeth and gums by brushing and flossing daily and avoiding foods that could damage your braces. Following these directions will help your treatment plan stay on track, cut back on trips to the orthodontist for repairs, and can reduce treatment time. Watch the video below for more tips on how to keep your braces in tip-top shape!
Congratulations on your new braces! Orthodontics will help improve your smile, mouth, and jaw but you’ll need to apply some care and attention along the way. It’s easy to keep your braces in tip-top shape and avoid painful irritation or damage when you follow these tips.
How To Brush With Braces
Brushing with braces proper brushing is vital to keep your teeth and gums healthy. You must develop a habit of cleaning all the surfaces of every tooth. Plaque can build up around your gums and cause gingivitis. However plaque is soft and can be easily removed with the proper brushing techniques.
Start by brushing the outer surfaces of your teeth and braces with a gentle circular motion. You’ll want to tilt your toothbrush at a 45 degree angle to clean the top and bottom of the braces. Concentrate on the portions of your teeth between the gums and the braces. These are the areas that are most commonly missed when brushing.
Also give attention to the chewing and inside surfaces of your teeth and don’t forget to brush your tongue for best results. We recommend a Sonicare toothbrush to clean between the brackets of your braces. You can use a proxy brush one is provided in your kit. If you need more, you can purchase them from any drugstore. Insert the proxy brush under the arch wire and gently work it in an up and down motion. By doing this you will clean the surfaces of your teeth to the left and right of the braces. Do this between all your brackets and bands and remember to brush three to four times a day for two full minutes.
Flossing With Braces
To clean in between your teeth you will need to floss. The best way to floss your teeth when you have braces is to use an orthodontic floss threader. The floss threader will easily move dental floss underneath the wire. To use the floss threader pull the floss through the threader and use it to direct the floss under the arch wire. Floss gently and push the floss between two teeth then wrap the floss around one tooth in the shape of a c and gently move the floss up and down. Most floss threaders are reusable and can be rinsed with warm water after use.
From the beginning make it a habit to floss every day. At first flossing with the threader may take some time to learn but as you practice every day you will get better and faster at flossing.
How To Handle Irritation
Although there are very few true orthodontic emergencies, you may experience minor pain and irritation during the course of treatment. Arch wires and ligatures may sometimes poke your lips and gums. This is often a problem that can be fixed at home.
- Tweezers can be used to reinsert arch wires that have slipped out of the molar tube.
- Orthodontic wax can be used to cover arch wires that stick out of the brackets.
- Nail clippers can be used to clip broken arch wires that are poking out.
- Pencil Eraser If wax cannot ease your discomfort use a pencil eraser to push in ligature wires that are causing lip or gum irritation.
During the first week of treatment you may notice sores inside your mouth. This can happen because your lips and cheeks are not familiar with rubbing against your braces. To provide some relief to your lips and cheeks you can place a small pea-sized amount of wax on the area of the braces that is causing discomfort. To place the wax, break off a piece and roll it into a pea-sized ball to get the wax to stick. Dry the area with a cotton swab and then press the ball of wax over the area of irritation.
Food And Braces
Remove the wax when eating or brushing and reapply when needed. Be cautious with certain foods. Apples, carrots, and celery are fine if they’re chopped into small bite-sized pieces. Corn must be cut off the cob to be eaten. Be careful when eating foods like chicken and ribs because the bones can cause damage to your braces.
Avoid eating any foods that are hard or sticky. Foods like chips, nuts, bagels, and other hard breads can break brackets, bend arch wires and loosen bands. Bubble gum, hard candy, caramel, and popcorn should also be avoided. Avoid soda, carbonated beverages, sports drinks, and juices. These contain excess sugars that have an acidic pH and can cause white spots on the teeth. Never chew ice as it will destroy your braces. Remember, in order to have your best smile, you not only need straight teeth but also clean and healthy teeth. Chewing the ends of pencils and pens will also cause severe damage to your braces.
We hope these tips help you take care of your teeth throughout your journey with braces. If you have any questions about these brushing and flossing techniques consult with your orthodontist.
Brushing While Wearing Braces
Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and a small strip of fluoride toothpaste. When you brush your teeth, move the brush in small, circular motions to reach food particles that may be under your gum line. Hold the toothbrush at an angle and brush slowly and carefully, covering all areas between teeth, between braces and the surface of each tooth. It will take you several minutes to thoroughly brush your teeth. Brush up on the lower teeth, down on the upper teeth and the outside, inside and chewing surface of your front and back teeth. Brush your tongue and the roof of your mouth before you rinse.
Especially during orthodontic treatment, brush your teeth four times daily to avoid the accumulation of food particles in your teeth and braces:
- In the morning after breakfast
- After lunch or right after school
- After dinner
- At bedtime
You will need to replace your toothbrush more often due to your appliances. As soon as the bristles start to wear down or fray, replace your toothbrush with a new one. It may be difficult for your toothbrush to reach some areas under your archwire. Do not swallow any toothpaste; rinse your mouth thoroughly with water after you finish brushing. It is important to floss, use an antibacterial mouthwash and use a fluoride treatment for optimal oral hygiene.
Flossing With Braces
Flossing takes more time and patience when you are wearing braces, but it is important to floss your teeth every day. We recommend flossing at night to make sure your teeth are clean before you go to bed. Flossing reaches areas between the teeth that a toothbrush can’t and removes food particles and plaque.
Use a reusable floss threader to floss under your archwire. daily Pull a small length of floss from the dispenser through the threader, and slide it up and down along the front of each tooth. Use care around your archwire, and do not floss too forcefully around it or put too much pressure on it. You will be able to feel when the tooth is clean and hear the squeak of the floss against your clean teeth. After you floss between your archwire and braces, floss between your other teeth and gums
If you are flossing without a floss threader, pull a small length of floss from the dispenser. Wrap the ends of the floss tightly around your middle fingers. Guide the floss between all teeth to the gum line, pulling out food particles or plaque. Unwrap clean floss from around your fingers as you go, so that you have used the floss from beginning to end when you finish. Floss behind all of your back teeth. When you first begin flossing around your braces, your gums may bleed a little. If the bleeding does not stop after the first few times flossing, please inform a staff member at your next appointment.
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Foods to Avoid to Protect Your Braces
While you are wearing braces, please avoid eating hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar. Hard foods can break or damage the wires and brackets, and sticky foods can get caught between the wires and brackets. Minimize the amount of sugary foods you eat; the sugar can cause tooth decay and other related problems.
Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:
- Gum (sugar-free or regular)
- Licorice
- Sugar Daddies
- Toffee
- Tootsie Rolls
- Caramels
- Starburst
Examples of Hard Foods to Avoid:
- Ice
- Nuts
- Hard taco shells
- French bread crust/rolls
- Corn on the cob
- Apples and carrots (unless cut into small pieces)
- Bagels
- Chips
- Jolly Ranchers
- Pizza crust
- Uncooked carrots (unless cut)
Minimize Sugary Foods like:
- Cake
- Ice Cream
- Cookies
- Pie
- Candy
Eat These Foods Only Once A Day:
- Soda
- Sweetened tea
- Gatorade
- Kool-Aid
- Drinks with sugar
We encourage patients to quit bad habits, such as fingernail biting, pencil and pen chewing and chewing on foreign objects. All of these activities can break or damage your braces.
It’s important to regularly check your braces for bent or loose wires and brackets. If you have a loose/broken wire or bracket, please call our office immediately to arrange a repair appointment.
Rinsing with an Antibacterial Mouthwash
To reduce inflammation to your gums and cheeks, we suggest using a hydrogen peroxide antiseptic mouth rinse. This rinse will help prevent infection and decrease irritation that may develop from your braces. Rinse your mouth with two teaspoons of the hydrogen peroxide rinse for one minute, and then spit it out. You may use it up to four times daily following brushing. Just like using peroxide for a scrape on your skin, this hydrogen peroxide mouth rinse helps the inside of your mouth heal. It can be used for general irritation caused by your braces or for canker sores, cheek bites and other minor injuries to the gums.
Using an Interdental Toothbrush
An interdental (between the teeth) toothbrush is used to clean underneath and around your archwires and braces. Please use the interdental toothbrush gently to avoid damaging your wires.
Topical Fluoride
We recommend using a sodium fluoride gel to help prevent tooth decay while you are wearing braces. This gel kills bacteria and replaces minerals in the tooth enamel that have been removed by harmful acids. Using a fluoride gel does not replace daily brushing and flossing, but it should be applied following your daily schedule at bedtime. Place a small strip of the gel on a toothbrush, and apply it to your teeth for one minute. Then spit it out. Do not eat or drink for 30 minutes afterward. It is important for the active ingredient to stay on your teeth for 30 minutes, so do not wash it away by eating, drinking or rinsing.
Cleaning Your Removable Appliance
Now that your braces are in place, it is very important to maintain a good oral hygiene regimen throughout the length of your treatment. Braces, wires, bands and retainers can all trap food particles and make it difficult to brush or floss away plaque. Careful brushing and flossing, preferably after every meal and snack, is the best way to prevent plaque build-up, tooth decay and gum disease.
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