Keeping your teeth clean is essential to your overall well-being. When it comes to brushing your teeth with braces, however, it’s even more important to get your oral hygiene down. The Parks, Schmit, & Fuller Orthodontics team knows that with all the extra tools in your mouth, cleaning around your braces can be tough at first, but don’t worry! Use these tips for brushing your teeth with braces, and you’ll be on the right track in no time.Â
Keep Your Home Care Kit with You
This orthodontic toolbox is your new best friend.
The day you get your braces, you’ll also get a home care kit to take care of them. Make sure you hold on tight to this toolkit because it has everything you need to brush and floss your teeth with ease! We’ll include a soft-bristled toothbrush, a proxabrush, and a floss threader. Each tool plays a unique role in your oral health to clean those hard-to-reach places and be sure you’ll have a pearly white smile in no time.
Soft-Bristled Toothbrush – our team recommends a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean your teeth without harming your gum tissues. The soft bristles can reach down between each bracket, making it easier to clean these tough-to-reach spaces.
Proxabrush – this tool looks almost like a pipe cleaner, and it works practically the same! The Proxabrush allows you to clean the spaces between brackets or wires that your toothbrush just can’t reach.
Floss Threader – this tool helps you maneuver around the wires in your mouth to floss between your teeth without a hitch.
Not only does this kit help give you a head start toward caring for your teeth with braces, but it also teaches you which tools you’ll need throughout the time you’ll be wearing them so you can replace them as needed. If you have any questions about the contents of your home care kit, don’t hesitate to call us- your team at Parks, Schmit, & Fuller Orthodontics always has your back!
Try This: Keep your home care kit with you wherever you go. It fits easily into your backpack, purse, or suitcase. Trust us, it’ll save you a lot of worry in the long run.
Brush Your Teeth Carefully
It’s all about the angles!
Brushing your teeth with braces comes with a whole new set of rules. You’ll want to listen closely to your orthodontist and the team when they explain how to brush around the brackets and wires. Don’t be afraid to look up videos on our website to help get a good visual for how to hold your brush because when it comes to learning your new routine, it’s all about the angles.
Just like when you brushed without braces, you’ll still want to spend two minutes brushing each morning, night, and after meals.
Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to brush both the exposed parts of your teeth, the braces, and at your gum line. Make sure you don’t cut corners and don’t forget to brush your tongue! It is essential to brush your entire mouth to get rid of bacteria that cause plaque buildup and bad breath.
Use the tools in your home care kit – like your proxabrush – to clean the hard-to-reach places between your brackets and behind the wires. Careful brushing can help prevent white spots that may appear when we take your braces off, so for the sake of your future smile, follow these rules!
Try This: Re-brushing is key! Usually, the Parks, Schmit, & Fuller Orthodontics team recommends brushing your teeth at least twice a day – but for the best results, you should brush after every meal. The brackets and wires that make up your braces add cracks and crevices to your mouth that weren’t there when you first learned how to brush your teeth.
Food can easily get stuck in these places after lunch or your mid-afternoon snack. Wherever food is leftover, plaque can form, so the best way to take care of your teeth is to brush after meals to make sure you don’t get any white spots or cavities.
Don’t Forget to Floss Your Teeth!Â
Flossing between your teeth is super important.
We know that it’s common to drop flossing from your oral health to-do list, but it’s never been more important to keep up with now that you have braces. Just like there is a learning curve with brushing, the same is true for flossing, so take notes!
Thread the dental floss through the eye of a floss threader. Then, push the head of the floss threader under the wire. Remove the threader and lay it to the side. Floss each side of your tooth in a back-and-forth motion like you normally would without braces. Pick up your floss threader and repeat this step by moving to the next tooth! If you find that tricky, just grab one of the flossers we provide to get those hard-to-reach areas.
Be sure you don’t skip flossing. It is vital to the quality of your smile that you keep up with flossing throughout your treatment. The person in the mirror on the day your braces come off will thank you for it!
Try This: If flossing with a traditional floss and a floss threader is too hard, try using a WaterPik instead! This tool uses a high-pressure stream of water to push small food particles out of hard-to-reach areas. Because it’s just water, it might be easier to use than a floss threader because it works wherever you aim the handle. Plus, it’s an investment – you can use it with or without braces!
Get Your New Smile from the Best
Our Parks, Schmit, and Fuller Orthodontics team is committed to providing patients with the very highest quality of orthodontic care. We strive to ensure your experience in our office exceeds your expectations in every way. Whether you’re looking for help learning to brush around your braces or want to know which treatment plan is right for you, we’re here to answer all your questions.
If you haven’t gotten started, why wait? Schedule your free consultation in Cedar Rapids or Marion to get the smile of your dreams today!