Maintaining excellent oral hygiene with braces

Your dental health is very important, but this is especially true when you have braces. Braces create exceptional concerns and challenges, and you want to ensure you have a fantastic smile when you finally get them off. Follow the oral care tips listed below to keep your gums and teeth as healthy as possible:

Get your equipment in order

After getting your braces, you will be given a supply kit to help in managing them. This includes:

  • Interdental brush – used to clean under the wires and brackets to get rid of debris before you begin to floss and brush.
  • Tuft interproximal brush – a brush that you can use to clean between your teeth if you have gaps. It works well also around the brackets and fixed retainers.
  • Floss and floss threader – these two are used just like a thread and a needle to floss between the teeth.
  • Mirror – mirrors ensure that you haven’t missed a spot during cleaning. Some mirrors are basic, but others come with a light.
  • Toothbrush – you are already in the know on how this works, right? Make sure to replace them more often now that you have braces.

Clean in between

You should start cleaning by using an interdental brush to get rid of large debris from around your braces brackets and archwires. Start from one side and then move to the other on both the top and bottom. Use the mirror to confirm that you have not missed anything.

Floss at least once per day

This step is too important to skip. Gently pull the floss up to your gum line, but take care not to jam it! Start from one side either up or down and work your way around. Ensure to go between all your teeth.

Brush

You should make sure your toothbrush is soft since it is unnecessary to brush hard when you have braces on and use angles that work for you instead. You may also use the interdental brush to help in cleaning the gaps and to make sure you have gone around the retainers.

Check your smile

The mirror should be your greatest friend in checking behind the teeth just to make sure you’ve done a fantastic job. If you plan to smile, do not skip this step!

Using the equipment kits and putting extra effort into cleaning your teeth will ensure they look their best while you wear braces. Visit us at Brodie Bowman Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics to book an appointment and get your braces in Fort Walton Beach.

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