Caring for your teeth during orthodontic treatment
Caring for your teeth: Orthodontic treatment is a valuable investment in your smile and oral health.
Nevertheless, for optimum results, it’s important to invest in your orthodontic treatment too, by taking daily care of your teeth. Maintaining good oral hygiene is essential to prevent cavities, white spots and gum disease, ensuring your teeth remain healthy throughout treatment and long after.
But how do you care for your teeth during orthodontic treatment? The clinic of Dr Nomand Bach Orthodontist answers this question!
Brushing Your Teeth
When you wear braces, it’s crucial to maintain an in-depth brushing routine.
If you wear self-ligating brackets or transparent clear braces, we recommend using a soft-bristled toothbrush that can help you reach the more difficult areas around braces and wires. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, and after every meal, to prevent food debris from accumulating around your braces and under your wires.
If you wear Invisalign aligners, you have the advantage that your braces are removable, which makes brushing your teeth easier. But it’s just as important to maintain a strict brushing routine. Whenever you remove your aligners to eat or drink, brush your teeth before putting them back. This will prevent food residues and bacteria from getting trapped between your teeth and the aligners, reducing the risk of cavities and unpleasant odors. It’s also important not to forget to thoroughly clean your aligners with a toothbrush, toothpaste and lukewarm water before putting them back in.
Flossing Your Teeth
Whether you wear fixed braces or Invisalign aligners, flossing the spaces between your teeth is essential to reduce the risk of gum inflammation and maintain optimal oral hygiene.
Regular flossing can be difficult, if not impossible, when you wear braces. For this reason, using a threader or flosser with integrated threader allows you to floss between teeth and under the wires of the braces, helping to further remove any food residue that may be lodged there. Interdental brushes are also very useful for reaching narrower spaces that the toothbrush can’t clean, such as around braces.
If you have Invisalign aligners, you have the advantage of being able to remove them for normal flossing. However, it’s just as important not to neglect the importance of flossing every day.
Using Mouthwash
In addition to brushing and flossing, antiseptic mouthwashes can help reduce bacteria in your mouth and prevent gum infections. However, even if you’re short of time, it’s crucial to make sure you don’t replace brushing and flossing with mouthwash; it’s meant to be a back-up solution.
Eating Soft Foods
Certain foods can damage your braces or increase plaque formation, which could extend your orthodontic treatment.
It’s therefore advisable to avoid eating hard or sticky foods while wearing your braces, such as nuts, raw carrots, whole apples, sweets or chewing gum; they can break your braces, deform your wires or aligners, or stick to your braces. Choose soft, chewy foods instead. Also, avoid biting directly into larger foods, such as sandwiches or corn on the cob; cut them into smaller pieces.
Foods rich in sugar and acidity should be eaten in moderation, as they promote the formation of plaque, which can lead to cavities, erode your tooth enamel and create white spots on your teeth, which can become permanent once the braces are removed.
Caring for Your Teeth
Maintaining rigorous oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment is essential to the health of your teeth and the success of your treatment. These efforts will not only bring you closer to a more aesthetic smile, but also to optimal oral health.
Do you have further questions about caring for your teeth during orthodontic treatment, or would you like to start a new treatment? Contact the clinic of Dr. Nomand Bach Orthodontist today. Our team will be delighted to help you!
