If you have had braces for more than a week, you likely already know the joys of having braces and that oral care is a big must.
Braces can help make your smile aligned and help it to be even easier to keep your teeth and gums healthy too. When it comes to the benefits of braces, there are many!
There are also a lot of disadvantages that can come along with them. Eating candy or sticky food can be difficult. You may also find that you really need to pay attention to your brushing and your flossing routine and you may even be flossing more than normal.
You may have already found that flossing with braces can be more challenging than you would like. However, it’s important to do because it helps your gums and your teeth to be as healthy as they can be. You can also use a water pick or other things to try and keep the food particles and debris out of your teeth and so different technology may be helpful to you during this.
Brushing and of course flossing may take more time than you expected, but that’s okay! Adjust your expectations and be willing to do whatever it takes to take care of your health. While braces help your smile, they also increase the amount of food that stays on them. This means more plaque and more bacteria!
You have to clean your teeth and gums on a regular basis if you are going to keep gum disease and decay of your teeth from happening. Brace brackets are able to trap foods in the wires and the brackets, and the way it’s set up translates to working harder to get them out of those places. They may be tougher to reach, but having a routine of oral care will help you maintain oral health.
Braces may up the risk that you’re getting cavities or gingivitis, but not if you floss every day and brush. That’ll make sure that you will keep gums from swelling too much or bleeding. You’ll also reduce the chances that you’ll have your teeth decay or get gum disease. It will really help to maintain gum and teeth health as well.
You can use regular wax floss to floss or a water pick or ‘water flosser’. Look online to see what type of options are available and may specifically help someone with braces!
Brushing
Brush three times per day with braces. That means that you’ll rid your mouth of plaque and bacteria all before it starts to build up. When there’s more opportunity to have plaque and bacteria breed, you’ve got to brush for 2 or up to 4 minutes, brushing well.
Flossing
You can floss often. Twice a day flossing in the morning and during the night is going to give you good results. You may want to also floss when you’ve had snacks or meals after to try and remove food as you can.
Diet
There are certain foods that are going to benefit your teeth! Bananas, salads, apples, and whole foods are all great for your teeth and gums. Avoid food that has sugar, is sticky, or is processed.