Brushing one’s teeth is the fundamental aspect of ensuring good dental and oral hygiene. This is truer for those with braces, as bad oral health can inhibit their recovery process and cause big setbacks. It is important to know the proper ways to brush your teeth while wearing braces in order to ensure oral health without damaging your wires or brackets of the braces. We take a look at ways on how to brush your teeth while wearing braces.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOOTHBRUSH AND TOOTHPASTE
Brushing with braces requires constant care and attention, and a good toothbrush suited for teeth with braces can go a long way in ensuring cleanliness while making sure not to mess up with the alignment of the teeth. Generally, stiffer bristles are considered more effective for removing plaque, but for teeth with braces, brushes with softer bristles are safer to use as they clear away food particles and other substances while being softer and moulding with the wires and brackets. They also prevent braces from causing more discomfort to the tooth and gums. A good toothpaste can also work wonders to clean your teeth while giving you the least amount of discomfort.
STARTING WITHOUT TOOTHPASTE
While brushing your teeth, you need to observe carefully if the procedure is affecting your braces and hence it is advised to start brushing without toothpaste as the foaming action of the toothpaste can prevent you from observing the braces carefully. Once you are satisfied without toothpaste, you can start brushing after taking some amount of toothpaste.
PICKING INSTEAD OF SCRUBBING AND TAKING TIME
When removing plaque or debris from around the brace, it is extremely important to make sure that you pick gently instead of scrubbing hard on it, to avoid changing the orientation of the braces. Picking is generally more effective as well as causes less damage to the tooth and the brace as you can remove the gunk accumulated under the braces easily by picking unlike scrubbing where the gunk removal process would not be as effective. Also, taking ample amount of time to clean each area of the teeth can work wonders to ensure good dental hygiene while keeping the mouth fresh.
USING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY
You can also make use of technology to ensure dental hygiene without causing problems with your braces. For example, an electric toothbrush can be extremely helpful to enhance dental hygiene. Different types of electric toothbrush are available which can help you to clean your mouth and teeth thoroughly while ensuring that you give ample time in the process of cleaning your teeth. But you should not slack on brushing your teeth even on using electric toothbrushes.
Overall, sticking to general brushing schedules and taking care of not consuming non sticky and sugary foods can help a long way in maintaining oral hygiene.
– Source : drjenningsdds.com