Keeping your braces clean throughout treatment is essential to your treatment plan and ensuring your oral health stays in perfect condition. Our team at Mack Orthodontics is here to provide new braces patients with a short guide on cleaning and caring for their appliances throughout their smile journey. Read on to what you can do each day to keep them in shape and the value of doing so.
The Value of Cleaning Your Braces
There are plenty of reasons to keep your braces polished throughout treatment, including keeping your treatment plan on schedule and your teeth in excellent condition. The simple act of a quick but thorough cleaning each day can protect you from common complications such as bacteria buildup, plaque, tooth decay, and more.
You can rely on the care instructions provided to you by Dr. Mack and the Mack Orthodontics team to ensure your original teeth and appliance preserve their strength and effectiveness in the smile journey. Whenever you have questions about how to do so at home and what else you can do, contact our office, and our friendly front desk staff will ensure you get the answers you need.
Staying Hydrated
Drinking water is one of the best natural ways to clean your teeth throughout the day. Water naturally contains fluoride, which prevents tooth decay and eliminates harmful bacteria in your mouth. Drinking water during the day even dilutes the acids created in your mouth from sugary foods, preventing cavities. Having a bottle with you during the day will strengthen your teeth and keep your braces shiny during the course of treatment.
Choosing Braces-Friendly Meals
You can protect your braces from emergencies by choosing foods that are safe to eat with braces. Anything too sticky, chewy, or crunchy can damage your appliance, as it is not meant to withstand the pressure of excessive chewing. This includes fresh vegetables, chips, bagels, nuts, and popcorn. If your favorite food is included on the list, it must stay in the pantry for now. However, we promise the wait will be worth it to keep your braces in perfect condition and your smile safe.
You can still eat plenty of delicious items while wearing braces, including pasta, soft cookies, seafood, chicken, soup, bananas, and mashed potatoes. You can still maintain a balanced and nutritious diet with the foods Dr. Mack suggests. We encourage you to try new meals during this time. You may even find a brand-new favorite food!
A Daily Routine with the Right Tools
Brushing
One of the most reliable ways to care for your braces is by brushing them and your teeth twice daily, in the morning when you wake up and before you sleep at night. Dr. Mack recommends using a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste for the best results in ridding your mouth of lingering bacteria and plaque. Fluoride, the same natural ingredient found in water, is also found in many toothpastes to build your protection against decay and plaque.
Clean each surface thoroughly in a circular motion for around three minutes or until you covered your entire mouth. A quick brush after each meal is also recommended when a toothbrush is handy to avoid pieces of food being stuck in between your teeth or braces for too long. Mack Orthodontics will provide you with a small kit of items after placing your braces to set you up for success in your oral care routine.
Flossing
Braces use wires that stretch across the middle of each of your teeth, preventing a floss string or stick from cleaning between your teeth. To help you continue the important step of flossing, our team provides each patient with floss threaders. This thin plastic tool squeezes below the wires between each tooth so you can loosen up any stubborn pieces of food from past meals.
All you need to do is grab a string of floss and attach it to the tool, pulling the thread through until it reaches the end of the string. Neglecting to floss can allow bacteria to build up between your teeth and on your braces, quickly leading to tooth decay. Our team will happily point out specific areas to keep track of that may be more likely to get pieces of food stuck.
Using Mouthwash
You can supplement your cleaning routine with mouthwash. This liquid significantly boosts oral health by removing plaque, fighting tooth decay, preventing cavities, and even freshening up bad breath. Some mouthwash formulas include fluoride, the same natural ingredient in water and toothpaste, which builds up your protection against tooth decay and preserves your enamel.
Attend Your Follow-Up Appointments
During your scheduled appointments at Mack Orthodontics, our team can dedicate time to monitoring the progress of your teeth alignment and ensure your teeth and braces appliances are in great condition. The earlier we notice any issues, the more proactively we can act toward a solution and keep your braces working as needed.
We understand sometimes the unexpected may occur, preventing you from attending an appointment. Let us know as soon as possible so we can try to fit you in later or on a different day. Between appointments, the best way to clean and care for your braces is by following the above care routines to keep your treatment plan on schedule.
Protect Your Braces From Harm!
Mack Orthodontics is committed to educating patients throughout their braces treatment to maintain confidence and the ability to provide care outside of our practice. Dr. Mack and our team are proud to be an orthodontic resource to Burlington, Hillsborough, and the nearby communities. We offer free consultations to those interested in starting treatment and learning more about their oral health. Schedule yours today!