Brushing & Flossing
Keeping Your New Smile Healthy
While braces work wonders to straighten your teeth, they can’t prevent cavities or tooth decay. Maintaining a daily oral hygiene routine is essential to ensure your smile stays healthy during treatment. To help you get the best results from brushing and flossing with braces, the team at Lindsey Orthodontics in Griffin and Locust Grove, GA, has created this helpful guide.
Choosing the Right Tools for Braces Care
Braces can trap food particles and bacteria in the small spaces around brackets and between teeth, making thorough cleaning a bit more challenging. To tackle these hard-to-reach areas, we recommend using a soft, micro-bristle toothbrush. The gentle bristles are ideal for cleaning along the gumline and massaging the gums without causing irritation or bleeding, unlike harder bristles that can damage gum tissue.
Pair your toothbrush with a fluoride toothpaste to strengthen your teeth and protect them against decay. Fluoride helps restore essential minerals, keeping your smile strong and resilient throughout your orthodontic journey.
Yes, electric toothbrushes are safe and effective for cleaning braces, and they’re a popular choice for their convenience and efficiency. We recommend choosing an electric toothbrush with a soft-bristle head and a pressure sensor. The pressure sensor helps prevent you from brushing too hard, protecting both your gums and your braces.
With the right tools in hand, proper technique is key to maintaining oral hygiene with braces. Start by angling your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle toward the gumline. Using gentle pressure, move the brush in small circular motions to clean around the teeth and brackets.
Brush all surfaces of each tooth, including the front, back, and chewing surfaces. Avoid scrubbing too hard, as excessive force can harm your gums. Once all sides are clean, you’ve completed your brushing routine.
For an even more thorough clean, consider adding an interdental toothbrush to your routine. This tool features tiny bristles attached to a slim wire, designed to fit between your braces, wires, and teeth. Compact and easy to carry, interdental brushes are perfect for on-the-go touch-ups, removing trapped food particles quickly and effectively.
Another excellent addition is a water flosser. These devices use a steady stream of water to clean between teeth and braces, flushing out food debris and bacteria in hard-to-reach areas. While water flossers are highly effective, they should complement—not replace—your regular brushing and flossing routine. Incorporating one into your daily care helps ensure your smile stays clean and healthy throughout your treatment.
The Basics of Flossing with Braces
Flossing with braces can be tricky, as the archwire prevents floss from easily sliding between your teeth. The solution? A floss threader—a handy tool that helps guide floss beneath the wire so you can clean between your teeth effectively. For the best results, floss each gap between your teeth on both the top and bottom arches. This ensures you remove bacteria and debris, maintaining a clean and healthy smile throughout your treatment.
Evaluating Your Oral Hygiene Routine
Even with a solid routine of brushing, flossing, and rinsing, it’s not always easy to know how effective your efforts are. That’s where disclosing solutions or tablets come in. These products contain a harmless dye that highlights leftover food particles and plaque after you’ve completed your oral care routine. By using them, you can identify the areas that need extra attention and adjust your brushing or flossing technique to ensure every part of your smile gets the care it needs.
Trust Lindsey Orthodontics for Your Best Smile
If you have questions about maintaining proper oral hygiene with braces or want to learn more about orthodontic treatment, the team at Lindsey Orthodontics is here to help. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff is ready to provide guidance and support for all your orthodontic needs.
Ready to begin your journey toward a healthier, straighter smile? Contact us to schedule an appointment or use our convenient online appointment request form. With offices in Locust Grove and Griffin, GA, exceptional orthodontic care is always close to home. We look forward to welcoming you to our practice and helping you achieve a radiant, confident smile!
