Brace Yourself for Braces - MedBroadcast.com
Got braces? Don't let that stop you from maintaining good oral hygiene. In fact, it's even more important to maintain a good oral health routine. Learn why people get braces, the types of braces that exist, and how to brush and floss around braces.
With braces, oral hygiene is more important than ever. That's because braces have tiny spaces where food particles and plaque get trapped, and insufficient cleaning while wearing braces can cause enamel staining and tooth decay around brackets or bands.
Be sure to brush carefully after every meal with fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly and check your teeth in the mirror to make sure they're clean. Take time to floss between braces and under wires with the help of a floss threader. Additionally, visit the dentist to have your teeth cleaned every six months to keep your gums and teeth healthy.
Brace care guidelines
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"Ortho" means "correct" or "straight" and "odont" means "tooth". Orthodontics is a special discipline of dentistry concerned with aligning the teeth and jaws to improve one's smile and oral health. An orthodontist is a dentist who specializes in this type of treatment.
Not everyone's teeth are perfectly straight. In fact, many people have crooked or overcrowded teeth. If your dentist thinks your teeth need straightening, he or she may refer you to an orthodontist. The orthodontist usually recommends braces to improve a patient's physical "orofacial" appearance. Through orthodontic treatment, problems like crooked or crowded teeth, overbites, underbites, incorrect jaw position and disorders of the jaw joints are corrected.
Braces do a lot more than improve your smile. They play an active role in correcting overcrowded and misaligned teeth. This is important because malocclusion (an abnormal bite) may cause other problems, such as impaired plaque removal around misaligned teeth which can lead to gum inflammation and cavities.
Braces do a lot more than improve your smile. They also play an active role in correcting overcrowded and misaligned teeth. This is important because an abnormal bite (also known as "malocclusion") may cause other problems, such as impaired plaque removal around misaligned teeth, which can lead to gum inflammation and cavities.
Taking good care of braces can help prevent damage to the braces themselves and the teeth underneath as well as make the braces more comfortable to wear. Learning the basics of orthodontic care will help you follow your dental professional's recommendations to keep your teeth and gums healthy during the time you're wearing braces.
It's also important that you continue with regular visits to your general dentist while undergoing orthodontic treatment. Routine checkups are necessary to spot cavities and signs of gum disease. Your dentist or hygienist may also perform frequent fluoride treatments to provide additional protection to tooth surfaces from decay while you're wearing braces.
Many children and teens (and some adults) don't know how to floss with braces. Or they think that they can't floss at all if they have braces. But that's not the case. In fact, daily flossing is especially important during the time that you wear braces because you're more likely to have food particles trapped in the braces, bands and wires, which could increase your risk of a cavity if the food contains carbohydrates (sugars).
Be prepared to spend three times as long on your oral care while you have braces on your teeth. Don't worry, it's worth the time - if you don't pay attention to oral hygiene while your teeth are being realigned, you increase your risk of gum disease. Plus, it can help your teeth look that much better when it's finally time to get your braces removed.
Use waxed floss (unwaxed floss is more likely to get caught and shred in your braces), dental tape or a product specifically designed to clean around your braces, like the Oral-B® Orthodontic Brush.
Use enough. About 18 inches of floss should suffice.
Thread it carefully. Take the floss and carefully thread it under the main wire of the braces before passing it between two teeth. Then remove the floss and re-thread it under the main wire to pass between the next pair of teeth.
Be sure not to snap the floss-simply move it up and down gently against the side of each tooth.