Braces are being worn by more than 4 million Americans at the moment to give them lovely smiles. While straightening and aligning teeth is their primary function, braces can improve oral health by lowering the incidence of tooth decay and gum disease. This may enhance your child’s look.
However, if you don’t properly care for your braces and teeth while having them aligned, there might be issues later and you mifht have to visit Pediatric Dentistry Indianapolis IN. Food must be removed carefully from teeth, brackets, and between wires since braces function as a trap for food particles and germs.
While you or your children are wearing braces, be prepared to spend three times as much time on dental hygiene. But don’t worry—time it’s well spent! Maintaining good dental health while becoming aligned helps prevent gum disease. In addition, when the time comes to have the braces taken off, it might make your child’s teeth seem even nicer.
Cleaning your teeth while wearing braces
Many of the standard oral hygiene guidelines still apply when teaching your children how to clean their teeth when they have braces. However, there are a few crucial aspects to bear in mind. How on earth do you clean teeth that have metal bonded to them, for instance? Or, how do you floss when wearing braces? Which toothbrushes are ideal for use with braces?
Let’s start with the fundamental guidelines for brushing while wearing braces, which include equipment and methods, flossing, and mouthwash.
Basic brushing equipment
With a few minor exceptions, the tools advised for used while cleaning teeth while wearing braces are the same as those your kid would use without them.
- Use a soft-bristle brush that has preferably been created specifically for braces.
- Use an electric toothbrush with a medium power setting.
- Use fluoride-containing toothpaste twice daily.
- To clean in between braces, think about buying a proxabrush (also known as a Christmas tree brush).
- Every three to four months, replace the toothbrush’s frayed bristles.
Methods for cleaning teeth while wearing braces
Brushing with braces requires spending at least two minutes at a time, if not up to five. Because food has a tendency to become stuck in braces and wires, brushing for extended periods of time helps get rid of all the debris.
- Brush twice daily for at least two minutes.
- Scrub the spaces between braces and gums and wires and teeth.
- Apply gentle circular movements while pressing the toothbrush’s bristle tips flat on the teeth.
- When cleaning between braces and gums, tilt the brush toward the gum line. Go about it in a circle.
How to floss while wearing braces
Flossing is challenging when your mouth is crowded with wires and braces. Spend some time flossing together with your kid every time they clean their teeth. Flossing may assist eliminate remaining debris since plaque can accumulate and debris can easily get lodged in teeth with braces.
Pediatric Dentist Indianapolis IN offers some insider tips for making flossing quicker and more efficient.
- Use a floss threader to make flossing for your kid simpler. It’s simpler than threading a needle. Push the threader beneath the archwire after pulling one end of the floss through it. Use a floss specifically made for braces that already has a threader built into it, or even better, use that. Compared to floss threaders, these flosses are more pleasant and less prone to harm gums.
- Use a water flosser for a fast, simple method to floss that cleans with a stream of water.
- Apply a gentle toothbrush. It’s crucial to brush the tops of your teeth between your braces and gums. Brush bristles must make contact with the gums in order to thoroughly clean the enamel. To prevent aggravating them, use a brush with softer bristles and aim it toward the gums.
- Every meal, brush your teeth. Because brace wires collect food particles, plaque may be avoided by brushing often. We advise bringing a portable toothbrush. If none are available, then rinse for 30 seconds with water. Brushing your teeth after eating acidic food is an exception. After consuming meals like oranges or sports drinks, you should wait 30 to 60 minutes before cleaning your teeth since doing so will weaken the tooth enamel.
- Use a moderate amount of toothpaste. In fact, the foam toothpaste produces may make it harder to notice plaque and other dirt. Simply using a moist toothbrush at first will enable you to clean in and around brackets and between wires. Use a focused, plucking action as opposed to scrubbing. Continue cleansing after adding a pea-sized quantity of toothpaste.
- Spend two minutes brushing your teeth. Give your mouth’s upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left each 30 second treatment. Clean the inside and outside of the teeth. To ensure that you brush for the whole two minutes, set a timer.
- Use a waterpik or floss threader. Flossing is one of the most difficult aspects of teeth care when wearing braces. It will be simpler to thread floss through the wire if it is tied to a threader. To remove additional plaque, move like a saw. Additionally, think about getting a waterpik water flosser. It flosses quickly and easily while also cleaning with a stream of water.
- Use mouthwash at night to freshen. Find a mouthwash with fluoride that reduces tooth decay and protects enamel. Any leftover particles may be removed with a one-minute rinse. After rinsing, look in the mirror to see if you missed any areas.
You want your child’s teeth to seem spotless and cavity-free when the orthodontist takes off those annoying braces from their mouth. Mouthwash swishing at night is the last step in caring for teeth with braces. Find a mouthwash with fluoride that reduces tooth decay and protects enamel. This step is crucial for everyone, including those who don’t regularly use mouthwash since wearing braces raises everyone’s risk of developing cavities. Use mouthwash to remove any leftover food for one minute every night.
Visit Children Dental Center Indianapolis IN
To address all of your dental hygiene inquiries, Childrens Dentist Indianapolis IN has qualified professionals on hand. Please call Kids Dentist Indianapolis IN right away to schedule a dental examination.
