Braces are an excellent way to improve dental health. By aligning teeth, braces help prevent tooth decay and gum disease. They also improve oral hygiene by helping patients take better care of their teeth, but they have some pretty significant care requirements themselves. Let’s talk about how to take care of braces!
Brace Care Basics
Braces are created to help teeth move into the right position. This is important because without braces, people might have to wear a retainer or use a veneer to cover an unsightly tooth alignment. They can be made of a hard material such as stainless steel and rubber bands that are soft and more flexible, but either way they have special care instructions. You’ll want to focus on not only the cleaning aspect, but also ensure you’re eating foods that won’t damage your wires and brackets. Your dentist can help you with this process by providing you with detailed instructions on how to care for your braces.
Brace Cleaning
Braces have a tendency to trap food and bacteria between the brackets. Brushing your teeth is no longer sufficient because much of the time, the bacteria will still be trapped in the braces. In order to properly clean your braces, you will need a special tooth brush with soft but powerful bristles. You’ll likely be required to brush your teeth after every meal (yes, even at school if you can). Then, you’ll need to floss, which is difficult with brackets and wires. Your dentist will recommend using a water picker to get in between and around the braces to prevent food from getting stuck in them and in your teeth! Then, you do a couple rinses and you’re good to go!
Brace Maintenance
You may be all too familiar with the unpleasant feeling of metal on metal, but you may not know about the importance of properly maintaining your braces for the duration of their use. For example, in order to reduce irritation caused by braces, it is important that you brush your teeth at least twice each day and clean them with hydrogen peroxide before bed. Additionally, you’ll want to avoid any foods that may cause harm to your brackets. This includes hard foods, sticky foods, and foods with small pieces like popcorn or blackberries!
Conclusion
Braces not only help align teeth, they also help protect them. Braces can prevent tooth decay by cutting down on plaque and tooth erosion. This is why it’s important to take care of your braces! Bracing is a long-term commitment and if you don’t do your job, the time and money invested will be lost. Make sure you talk to your orthodontist at Adventure Orthodontics about how to properly care for your braces, maintain their structure, and guarantee a beautiful smile!