Maintaining Oral Hygiene with Braces: Tips and Tricks
When you have braces, keeping your teeth clean becomes a bit more challenging. Braces create new surfaces and undercuts that make it more difficult to keep your teeth clean and easier for food and plaque to get trapped. In addition, braces make it harder to floss normally. As a result, cavities, white spot lesions (white scars on the teeth), and gingivitis (gum disease) are common throughout treatment with braces. Maintaining proper oral hygiene is important to keep your teeth and gums healthy throughout your orthodontic treatment, so this blog post will cover tips and tricks as well as how to achieve optimal oral hygiene while wearing braces.
Electric Toothbrush versus Manual Toothbrush
The first question we always get from our patients is whether to use an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush. Our first response is that the most important factor with brushing is your brushing technique. When brushing with braces, the brush head will need to be angled at a 45-degree angle in three different ways: above the brackets, below the brackets, and towards the gums. The toothbrush should be angled in all three ways for about 5 seconds while gently brushing at each region of the mouth. Altogether this should take at least two minutes to complete brushing.
An electric toothbrush makes the process a little more predictable for patients since the built-in vibrations help break the plaque up. An electric toothbrush also has a built-in timer to ensure patients are brushing their teeth long enough.
Flossing: Floss Threaders versus Water Flossers versus Platypus Flossers
Flossing is particularly tricky for most patients, so it is very common or patients to never floss throughout treatment resulting in gingivitis and severely swollen and puffy gums. Most offices give patients floss threaders where the patient must loop it in between every tooth. With floss threaders, the time it takes to floss easily triples.
The next option is to use a water flosser such as a WaterPik. Water flossers are much easier to use than floss threaders, but they are not as effective as traditional floss, even if their marketing says so. An analogy to traditional flossing versus water flossing would be washing dishes. Running water can takeoff some food particles off a plate but you need a sponge to scrub any food particles stuck on a plate. For patients who do not floss though, a water flosser is much better than nothing.
At Life Orthodontics, we provide all of our patients with platypus flossers which greatly simplifies the flossing process. Platypus flossers are floss picks that were designed to fit underneath the wire of the bracket, so you can essentially floss like normal with them.
Interproximal Brushes
Interproximal brushes, also known as proxy or Christmas tree brushes, are handy for cleaning around your braces and under the wires. These small brushes are particularly helpful when food is stuck underneath your wires.
Mouthwash
Using mouthwash as part of your oral hygiene routine can provide additional protection against plaque and gingivitis. Most mouthwashes now can incorporate both antibacterial and fluoride components. An antibacterial mouthwash can help reduce the bad bacteria in your mouth which helps prevent gingivitis, while a fluoride mouthwash can strengthen your teeth and help prevent decay. We recommend rinsing with mouthwash twice a day.
Recommended Oral Hygiene Routine
A comprehensive oral hygiene routine with braces should include the following steps:
1. Brush your teeth twice a day with an electric or manual toothbrush, ensuring you clean around all brackets and wires.
2. Floss daily using Platypus Flossers.
3. If needed during the day, use an interproximal brush to remove any food stuck underneath your wires.
4. Rinse with mouthwash to help reduce gingivitis and to strengthen your teeth.
5. Continue to see your dentist regularly for professionalcleanings and check-ups.
Conclusion
Maintaining good oral hygiene with braces may require extra effort, but it is crucial for keeping your teeth and gums healthy. By using the right tools and techniques, you can effectively clean your teeth and avoid common issues like cavities, white spot lesions, and gingivitis. Also, remember to visit your dentist regularly. At Life Orthodontics, we're here to support you every step of the way on your journey to a beautiful, healthy smile. Serving patients from Tustin, Irvine, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Orange, Anaheim, and beyond, we take pride in our humble pursuit of excellence and our commitment to providing the best service and experience possible.
