Dental Braces and Oral Hygiene

Braces are one of the most common teeth-straightening options now. Children and adults alike get braces to have their teeth straightened. While braces will eventually have your teeth straight and enhance your smile, this can be compromised if you don’t take care of your oral health, especially the teeth behind the braces. Oral hygiene, while having braces, is very critical in ensuring your smile is intact when the braces are out.

Dental braces and oral health

Dental braces and oral health go hand in hand because failure to thoroughly clean your teeth while having braces may bring about other oral health issues. Caring for your teeth beneath the braces will ensure that you won’t need another procedure after taking your braces out. So how do you take care of your teeth while having braces?

When you have braces, you will not clean your teeth the same way a person without braces will do. This is because there will be more crevices for food to be stuck in. Whether you are having metal braces or ceramic braces, cleaning teeth with braces needs utmost care and precision. You will need a special small brush with soft bristles that will clean all the teeth surfaces and the hidden corners and crevices. You will also need a good antibacterial fluoride toothpaste that will strengthen your teeth and keep bacteria at bay.

How to brush your teeth with braces

Because you will be dealing with many surfaces, you will need to angle your brush in such a way that all the crevices and corners of the braces and teeth are properly cleaned. Not forgetting your gums, brush carefully and gently in a circular motion, not so hard that you will displace your braces or break them. Also, not too gentle that you will not get all the plaque out. For best results, brush your teeth individually one after the other and then rinse with clean water. It is also recommended that you floss your teeth at least once a day so that you reach in between your teeth to avoid decay. For effective flossing, you will need a floss threader so that you can pass the dental floss over and through your braces.

What to avoid

Braces are designed to straighten your teeth efficiently while minimizing discomfort and inconvenience as much as possible. However, there are some things that you need to avoid to ensure your braces stay in place. Avoid hard foods such as carrots, popcorn, and hard candy among others as these might loosen or break your braces.

Bottom-line

While you can easily take good care of your oral health with dental braces, frequent visits to the dentist will also be beneficial. Springvale Dental Clinic has expert and experienced dentist to take care of your braces and oral health. Visit our dentist in Mulgrave for professional and quality dental braces installation. If you are worried about the cost of dental braces, Springvale Dental Clinic offers the best braces installation services at an affordable price for both adults and children.