Brushing and Flossing

Good dental hygiene is crucial when you are wearing braces. Your new hardware creates even more spaces for food to get trapped. Leftover food debris, bacteria, and plaque can build up around your brackets and leave you with stains, spots and bad breath – all of which could seriously detract from your new smile! Getting a new set of braces is also an excellent time to upgrade your toothbrush.

BRUSHING WITH BRACES

Brush your teeth for two minutes after every meal with a soft-bristled, small-headed toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. As an alternative, you can use a powered toothbrush to increase your brushing effectiveness. Brush the outside and inside surfaces of your teeth using small, gentle, circular motions while positioning the head of the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gum line. Brush your teeth chewing surfaces and the inside surface of your front teeth using short, gentle, back-and-forth motions. Pay close attention to the areas around your brackets or other appliances.

FLOSSING WITH BRACES

Flossing after every meal will help keep your teeth and braces clean, which will also help keep your treatment time on track. To floss with braces, use a floss threader or special orthodontic floss to thread the floss behind each wire. Wrap the ends of the floss around your pointer fingers of both hands and leave a few inches of taut floss between them. Gently slide the floss between each set of teeth using a back-and-forth motion. Floss the sides of each tooth beneath the gum line to remove plaque and food particles. Repeat this process until you’ve flossed all your teeth. If you find that your floss is not removing all the food particles between your teeth and around your braces, ask us about a water flosser!