Brushing and Flossing
When you have braces, it's very important to brush after every meal in order to keep your teeth and gums healthy throughout your orthodontic treatment. If you need help choosing the right toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss, please ask us and we can help you choose the right products for your teeth and your appliance.
Warning: If you do not brush carefully AND drink acid drinks like soda pop or gatorade these liquids get stuck in the food debride you didn't brush off. The acid thus held against your teeth gives the acid time to start the decay process! White spots at first and later holes in your teeth. Yikes!
Brushing with Braces
Brush your teeth for two minutes after every meal with a soft-bristled, small-headed toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. As an alternative, you can use an electric toothbrush to increase your brushing effectiveness. Brush the outside and inside surfaces of your teeth using small, gentle, circular motions while positioning the head of the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gum line. Brush your teeth’s chewing surfaces. When brushing the inside surface of your front teeth use the heel of yout toothbrush and brush with short, gentle, back-and-forth motions. Pay close attention to the areas around your brackets or other appliances. If after eating you happen not to have a toothbrush handy, at least fill your mouth with water and swish.
Flossing with Braces
Flossing at least once a day will help keep your teeth and braces clean, which will also help keep your treatment time on track. To floss with braces, use a floss threader or Platypus flosser (see video below) to thread the floss behind the wire. Wrap the ends of the floss around your pointer fingers of both hands, leaving a few inches of taut floss between them. Gently slide the floss between each set of teeth using a back and forth motion. Floss the sides of each tooth beneath the gum line to remove plaque and food particles. Repeat this process until you’ve flossed all of your teeth. Using a Platypus flosser makes this process go much faster and and is less complicated. If you find that your floss is not removing all of the food particles between your teeth and around your braces, ask us about a water flosser!
Platypus Flosser Video
