Cleaning Your Braces with the Daily Three
Cleaning your teeth while wearing braces maybe be challenging but with good skills its possible to keep your teeth and gums healthy and your braces shiny and super clean. In addition to maintaining professional dental cleanings and oral exams with your dentist, you will want to modify the way you brush and floss your teeth. With braces, it can be difficult to reach certain areas unless you change the toothbrush angle at which you reach them. It will take some getting used to, but soon you will be able to reach all areas of your teeth and gums to ensure thorough cleaning of your braces and your teeth. Rinse your mouth with water during the day after eating to loosen any debris that that may be stuck in your braces. You may even want to use a water flosser to help loosen food particles.
The Daily Three:
1 – Brush your pearly whites at least twice per day before breakfast and before going to bed, for at least five minutes each session. You need this time to do a thorough job! You may even use a water flosser to help loosen any food debris. Brush all your teeth at the gum line and above or below the braces. Angle the bristles to reach under the wires. Think about reaching all the areas where bacteria can hide! To make sure your toothbrush bristles are in tip top condition, replace your toothbrush about once a month while wearing braces. Worn bristles are less effective.
2 – Floss your teeth daily, at least prior to nighttime brushing, to remove and loosen the harmful bacterial plaque buildup between the teeth. Proper flossing will clean the areas in your mouth that your toothbrush bristles can’t reach. Using a floss threader or special precut strands of floss will make the job easier. Any plaque left on the teeth is sticky and gives food particles a place to cling to.
3 – Rinse after flossing and brushing with a fluoride mouth rinse before bed. Fluoride makes the surface of your tooth enamel stronger and more resistant to the acids in your mouth caused by foods and harmful bacterial plaque.
If you need to schedule an appointment with Dr. Catherine Scheurer McDevitt, please call us at 614-888 8070 to speak with a member of our professional team in Worthington and the surrounding Columbus, Ohio areas. We are here to help you achieve a smile you can be proud of!
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