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oral hygiene
GOOD ORAL HYGIENE IS IMPORTANT!
Patients wearing braces need to do their best to keep their braces, gums and teeth clean. By following Seuss Orthodontic's tips on oral hygiene and avoiding certain foods, you will be able to maintain healthy gums, teeth, and the life-changing smile you have always hoped for. To guarantee the best oral hygiene for your smile, always keep your toothbrush handy so that you can brush after every meal or snack. Keeping your teeth clean with braces tends to be a little more challenging, so follow our tips below on how to brush your teeth with braces to keep your smile fresh and clean.
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Brush the outside of your teeth using small circular motions. Take care to brush the outside of your back teeth, also.
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Start with your gums and the area between your gums and braces. Keep the toothbrush at an angle, down for the upper teeth, up for the lower teeth. Move back and forth in a circular pattern.
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Clean under the braces and the rest of your teeth by angling the brush up to reach your upper teeth and down to reach your lower teeth.
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Brush the chewing surface of your teeth. Move the brush back and forth, careful to reach those back teeth!
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Finish your brushing session by getting those hard to reach inside parts.
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After you are finished, rinse your mouth out with water. Follow with an antiseptic dental rinse.
Plaque is your enemy. If plaque is left on your teeth and/or around the braces, you can develop swollen gums, bad breath, scarred and discolored teeth, even cavities. Patients should avoid foods that are sticky, hard or chewy. They should also avoid any food and drinks that are known to cause cavities. Patients should brush, floss and rinse their mouth regularly between meals. Keeping your teeth clean is your most important job during your orthodontic treatment!
Flossing with braces is a bit on the tricky side, read on for information on flossing with braces. Since practice makes perfect, follow our step-by-step flossing with braces guide to ensure you keep your orthodontic smile clean and healthy.
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Thread your floss under the wire that connects your braces together. A floss threader might be needed to get the floss under the archwire. Use a piece of floss that is 12 inches long for best flossing results.
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Once you have threaded the floss under the wire, wrap the floss around the tooth on one side. Then push the floss up towards the gum line and pull down toward the wire. For best results, repeat this step 5 times to remove all plaque.
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Next, wrap the floss around the neighboring tooth and repeat the process on each tooth. Keep in mind, the best time to floss is before bedtime, after brushing to remove the plaque missed by brushing. This process will take more time than flossing without braces. If your gums are not healthy, they may bleed the first few days you floss. Remember that consistent brushing and flossing will result in a great orthodontic smile.
dental hygiene contest
Bring this dental hygiene certificate to your next dental cleaning. Ask your dentist or your hygienist to sign it. Bring it to your next orthodontic appointment or email the certificate to Frontdesk@DrSeussOrtho.com. You will be entered to win an oral-b spin brush.
