How to Clean Your Smile While Wearing Braces

At A&A Orthodontics, Dr. Shabbir Adenwalla and Dr. Inayat Ashai are pleased to provide comprehensive orthodontics for our patients in Ohio. In today’s blog, we are going to explore how to clean your smile while wearing brackets and wires.

Brushing

Certainly, everyone understands how important it is to practice strong oral hygiene habits to keep those pearly whites healthy. But wearing braces with brackets and wires can present an additional challenge to clean around, as they can trap food particles and harbor bacteria which can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. This means you will want to step up your oral hygiene routine to maintain a healthy mouth.

Brushing your teeth is a good rule of thumb after eating, including meals and snacks, instead just twice a day. You can use a manual toothbrush or an electric/battery powered toothbrush, whichever works best for you. Be sure to use a soft-bristled brush, and carefully clean each tooth around the brackets and gumline. Start with the gumline, then brush up and down around each bracket, and rinse thoroughly after brushing to make sure all oral debris is removed.

If you are eating out and forgot to carry a toothbrush, you will still want to remove food particles and oral debris after by rinsing well with water or mouthwash. Be sure to follow up with a thorough tooth brushing as soon as you can.

Flossing

After a thorough cleaning, you will want to follow up with flossing. We recommend flossing in braces at the very least once a day. The goal is to clean between teeth as well as the tooth surfaces under the wires. Find a flossing method that works best for you, and use it! There are a variety of flossing choices at your disposal, including waxed dental floss, threaded floss, oral irrigation, interdental brushes or even orthodontic floss which is specifically designed to clean around your brackets and wires.

Cleaning your teeth while wearing braces is a challenge that is easily met. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment with our orthodontists, Dr. Shabbir Adenwalla and Dr. Inayat Ashai, please give us a call at today. Our A&A Orthodontics team looks forward to helping you achieve your dream smile!

*Invisalign® and the Invisalign® logo, among others, are trademarks of Align Technology, Inc., and are registered in the U.S. and other countries

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