It’s one thing to maintain basic oral hygiene, but it is a whole other ballgame to take care of oral health coupled with caring for braces!
It requires time, effort, and a little bit of technique to keep your braces squeaky clean.
You should know how to look after your braces whether you wear lingual, metal, or ceramic ones. Taking care of braces correctly makes them much more effective and comfortable.
Managing to keep your braces clean while they simultaneously straighten your teeth is a little painstaking to be completely honest.
However, when they finally come off and you can see the fruits of your labor, it will make everything worth it.
There are right and wrong ways to take care of your braces.
Here are ways that dentists offering braces Winnipeg recommend maintaining them and what to avoid to ensure their longevity and overall health.
Take the time to properly brush and floss
Brushing is an essential aspect of oral hygiene and it becomes particularly important when you wear braces.
It makes for unruly food particles to easily get stuck in your braces causing problems like plaque accumulation, bad breath, and staining of the teeth.
Also, perfect your brushing technique. Hold the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and start by brushing your gum line.
Once that is done, hold the toothbrush at an angle facing downward on the top of your brackets, and conversely upward to clean the bottom of your brackets.
Flossing is just as important, do not avoid this step. Flossing just once a day makes a huge difference.
It helps to remove any leftover food particles that the toothbrush may have missed.
Failing to follow a thorough routine can result in unnecessary trips to the orthodontist for adjustments, cleanings, and checkups.
Add an oral irrigator to your dental kit
An oral irrigator, also known as a water pick, is a device that shoots out a stream of water with the right pressure.
This device can aid in eradicating food particles and it also helps to reduce gum diseases and bleeding.
Do not substitute this device for brushing and flossing, this is a complementary product that enhances your dental hygiene by eliminating persistent food debris a toothbrush and floss cannot reach.
Use it once every week for deep cleaning.
Know what products suit you best
Few dental health products contain harsh substances that cause the metal braces to corrode.
So before settling on what to use, your dentist will recommend toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss that are effective to get rid of microorganisms that cause cavities, halitosis, and gum infections.
Use a toothbrush with a soft head to access those hard-to-reach areas. An electric toothbrush works just as well.
Food
Very few foods are actually off-limits, anything chewy, sticky, crunchy, or hard is likely to not make the cut.
Avoid sugary foods and drinks as decay and staining will be caused around your brackets.
Stains can become permanent and much more obvious once your braces are taken off, making the whole process counterproductive.
You have to do everything you can to make sure you are going to get the best results.
Maintaining a proper oral cleanse routine, and being mindful about the food you eat are simple yet effective measures to ensure the perfect smile you’ve always dreamed of.
To offer you a better idea of what you should be eating here is a list of foods that won’t jeopardize the process.
- Rice and pasta
- Bread (without a hard crust)
- Cooked meat that is soft such as poultry, fish, and ground beef. Avoid eating food like steak unless it’s got a rare cook on it
- Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza (only if they are cut into bite-sized pieces)
- Hot cereals like oats, porridge, stews, and soups, hot cereals
- Bite-sized pieces of raw and cooked vegetables are edible
Softer foods are always a good choice like milkshakes, smoothies, and dairy will become your allies. These food items are easy to consume and have plenty of nutritional value.
On a side note, if you are someone who has a habit of biting your nails, chewing on pen caps, you’ll need to stop that right away.
These habits can break or bend the braces.