Ten Tips for Keeping Your Braces Sparkling Clean

If you have recently started treatment with braces in Toronto, it is important to learn how to effectively clean them! There are now more places for food to get trapped than usual in your mouth, so you have to be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth, and cavities. Keep your oral appearance up to par while wearing braces with these ten tips from Wired Orthodontics:

1. One tooth at a time. When you brush your teeth, Dr. Nalbandian stresses the importance of taking your time with each individual tooth. Focus on each one for at least 10 seconds, and pay close attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces. This way, you are ensuring that every single tooth is being well taken care of.
2. It’s all about the angles. Wired Orthodontics suggests that you brush your top teeth and braces with your brush angled downward, and brush your bottom teeth and braces with your brush angled up. This is the best way to clean them thoroughly.
3. The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical place to clean, Dr. Nalbandian says that it’s equally important to clean the inner and chewing surface of your teeth, your tongue, and along your gum line (a key spot for plaque buildup). Bacteria and plaque builds up on these surfaces just as much as the front of the teeth. Although you cannot see it, leaving them unattended will cause damage to your oral health.
4. Brush after every meal. Food can easily get caught in your braces and in between your teeth, which can lead to tooth decay. Also, the longer food stays in contact with your teeth, the greater the opportunity for plaque to form. Dr. Nalbandian suggests if you can’t brush after every meal, it is best to thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.
5. Make a first aid teeth-cleaning kit. Get into the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Design a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your bag at all times.
6. Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss. This will help you to keep from breaking your appliances, and also allow for the best possible job while cleaning your teeth.
7. Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Wired Orthodontics reminds our patients to be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.
8. Interproximal brushes. Sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes, these cone-shaped brushes come in handy when you need to reach those spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t reach. Invest in one of these to keep your teeth perfectly bright and clean throughout your treatment with braces in Toronto.
9. Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some Wired Orthodontics patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader or Superfloss. A floss threader helps you get the floss into those tight places, and Superfloss is an all-in-one product which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces. Test out which one feels the best for you, and be sure to use it diligently!
10. Invest in a Water Pick. Since water is able into many of the small spaces that floss or brushes cannot reach, Dr. Nalbandian also recommends the use of a Water Pick to help keep the teeth and gums healthy during orthodontic treatment. Just be sure to not set the pressure too high, as that may cause damage to the orthodontic appliances.

Make an appointment with Wired Orthodontics! Visit Wired Orthodontics (and your dentist) regularly while in treatment to get a deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide. Additionally, it is important that Dr. Nalbandian continue to check on the status of your treatment throughout the process, and ensure that your braces are functioning properly. If you have any questions or concerns about cleaning, or anything else, while wearing your braces in Toronto, do not hesitate to call us at 647.344.9473!