This article is aimed at those people who have a hard time brushing with braces. Either you have gotten them recently, or you just cannot seem to find a good way to do it, then you are in good hands. It is important to know that braces do require some extra effort in order to clean properly.
It does not matter if you have bands, brackets, wires or even fixed retainers, the following tips will help you achieve a better smile!
How do I brush my teeth with these braces?
This is a common topic for our dentists in Los Algodones, as people who get their braces are unsure on how they should be brushing. So here we will explain how you should do that:
Make sure that before you start brushing, you rinse your mouth first with water. This is so you can easily take away any piece of food from around the braces.
Once that is taken care of you can start brushing as you would normally do. It does not matter if you have braces or not, make sure to use a toothpaste with fluoride in it. We recommend starting to brush the gum line, it is easy to miss and stores quite an amount of plaque. This is done by tilting your toothbrush 45 degrees towards the gum line.
And now comes the part we have been expecting, the braces. As the braces are usually blocking your teeth from getting brushed directly, we will brush the top and bottom of them. Place your toothbrush on top of the brackets and angle it down, then target the bottom and angle it up. Do this with the upper and lower brackets with a slow and smooth motion, brushing all you can from the tooth as well.
The aim here is to brush the most you can on every teeth, as well as removing all plaque and food remnants.
What about cleaning between the teeth?
I applaud your interest in interdental cleaning, my friend, as flossing indeed proves impossible while being frustrating as well. When wearing braces, or even fixed retainers, there is something blocking you from cleaning between them directly.
I mean, if you indeed partake into flossing with.. dental floss, you would have to pass it through the inaccessible parts, sort of like threading a needle. And that is for every tooth. For this reason, we give you some alternatives to flossing you can use:
- Floss threaders: these are a simple, disposable tools commonly used by people with braces. Although it does take longer to floss with them, it is a very practical solution to getting the floss in those tough spots. With these Los Algodones dentists recommend waxed floss, as non-waxed may leave shreds within the braces.
- Interdental brushes: these are like brushes, just that instead of a head, it is a wire with the bristles around it. With the help of this tool you can easily clean between your tooth without paying mind to the braces. Not only that, but you can also clean the brackets with them.
If it is a children with braces
Remember that young children may not have the required dexterity to floss like intended. For this, they might require a bit of help performing this task. For these we prefer the interdental brushes rather than floss threaders, as they are more simple to use.