How to Keep Your Teeth and Braces Clean
If you want sraight teeth, braces will help you achive those! And if you have just put braces on your teeth the last time you visited the dentist, you need to take extra care of those teeth and protect them from decay, staining and gum disease. You should also be careful not to damage the braces. For instance, you should avoid eating chewy or sticky sweets, eating hard or crunchy foods, biting your lip, breathing excessively through your mouth, pushing your tongue against your teeth, etc.
Here are some cleaning tips to protect the teeth from decay and the braces from damage.
Brushing
When you wear braces, you should brush your teeth everytime after you had food; it doesn’t matter if it was lunch or afternoon snacks. This is because food particles can easily get trapped in the braces.
Rinse your mouth with water to dislodge the food stuck in and around the braces. Brush each tooth at the gum line and and both above and below the brackets. Once you finish brushing your gum, clean the brackets by brushing at a downward angle on top of the brackets and brushing at an upward angle at the bottom of the brackets. Rinse again after brushing.Other Cleaning Methods
Flossing and Other Cleaning Methods
You should floss at least once a day! Ensure that you floss under the wires along with the braces. To make the cleaning process easier, use a floss threader or an orthodontic flosser. Use a waxed floss so that you can easily slide it between the teeths and prevent it from snagging! in the braces. If you are outdoor and doesn’t have a toothbrush with you, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water or mouthwash. Brush as soon as poissble.
Use an oral irrigator for hard-to-reach areas. The steam from the device can remove plaque and food debris. Rinse with a mouthwash to kill the bacteria that are missed by brushing and flogship.
Eat with Care
If you are wearing braces, you need to take care of your diet. Avoid eating too many sugary and starchy foods as they can cause plaque to build up around the brackets, which will, in turn, lead to staining of the teeth, cavities or gum disease. You should especially avoid sticky and chewy foods, such as dried fruits, caramel, taffy, etc.
You should completely avoid hard foods. Foods like nuts, icecream and can easily break the wire if the braces. Even foods like apples and carrots can cause problem. If you feel like eating crunchy food, To eat crunchy foods, cut them into small, bite-size pieces.
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