At Gardner Orthodontics in Richmond, we like to teach some specialized techniques for maintaining great oral hygiene with braces.
Your commitment to your at-home oral care routine ensures that when you excitedly get your braces off to reveal a beautiful, healthy, newly-aligned smile, you won’t have a diagnosis of cavities throughout your mouth offsetting your achievement.
Brush After Every Meal and Keep Your Dental Checkups Current
When establishing a good oral hygiene routine it is critical to remove debris from your teeth after each meal as well as flossing once a day.
A two-minute brush, and a rinse, several times a day, will stop food particles from settling into the nooks and crannies of your braces. A frequent, after-each-meal brushing routine prevents plaque from forming.
- Please make sure to follow through on your every-six-month dental hygiene checkups. These are especially important while wearing braces, so your dentist can communicate with your orthodontist to make sure all systems are “go.”
Carry a Toothbrush, Fluoride Toothpaste, and Floss with You
Carrying these important tools with you daily will help to ensure that your oral hygiene routine is always a priority.
- If you’re going to brush after every meal, you need to have the right tools with you. You need to get in the habit of carrying a small or folding toothbrush, fluoride toothpaste, and proxy brush with you on a regular basis.
- A simple travel kit will easily fit in your jacket pocket or backpack, and having it with you means that no matter where you are, you can get your teeth brushed before any plaque starts to form and that no food stays caught in your brackets.
Clean Smarter, Not Harder
Many dental and orthodontic patients mistakenly believe the harder you brush, the better a job you’re doing. Actually, a soft-bristled brush and gentle but thorough cleaning are the tickets to preserving your tooth enamel for life, rather than abrading it.
- It’s also helpful to remember that acids, a natural byproduct of plaque biofilm, are constantly forming around your brackets and bands, even if you can’t quite see them. If these acids accumulate, they produce white spots around brackets, which will be unsightly when your braces are removed. But you can prevent them by remembering to brush the top and bottom surfaces of your brackets each time to remove plaque buildup.
- You should check with your orthodontist, but many suggest using an anti-cavity fluoride mouthwash or antibacterial mouth rinse to decrease your risk of tooth decay while wearing braces.
Dedicated Dental Hygiene will Always Pay Off!
You will find that caring for your braces at home, work, and play is not difficult. It just requires keeping your eyes on the prize: your healthy, uniformly-colored, attractive smile during and after braces. These tips will become second nature within your first month of orthodontic treatment.
Please contact Gardner Orthodontics at either (804) 282-0505 (Willow Lawn Office) or (804) 754-0505 (Gaskins Road Office) or schedule your complimentary consultation online today. We look forward to meeting you and discussing the ideal orthodontic treatment plan for you.
