Roslyn, NY Orthodontists Give Tips for Brushing Your Teeth with Braces
When you have traditional metal braces placed on your teeth, you will have to adjust your tooth brushing habits in certain ways. Our Roslyn, NY orthodontists, Drs. Eleni Michailidis and Abraham Chahine will provide you with a thorough education about your orthodontic treatment and comprehensive instructions to follow that will help to ensure that you achieve the best possible results in the timeliest possible fashion. This is why so many patients have chosen to entrust their treatment with traditional metal braces to our orthodontic practice.
Whether you are currently wearing metal braces, someone you love wears metal braces, or you believe you may be a candidate for metal braces at Avenue Orthodontics, we invite you to read the following tips for brushing your teeth with these time-honored orthodontic appliances. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss your orthodontic options, including metal braces and invisible braces, with our esteemed orthodontists, please contact us today.
Tip #1: Before You Brush, Rinse Your Mouth Vigorously with Water
Before you wore braces, you were probably accustomed to putting toothpaste on your toothbrush and getting straight to the business of brushing your teeth. When you have braces on your teeth, however, it is important to rinse first so that you can dislodge any food that might be stuck in or around your brackets or wires.
Tip #2: Brush with a Wet Toothbrush Before Adding Toothpaste
Once you have rinsed and spit, brush your teeth gently with water only. This will allow you to see your teeth and make sure that you are removing any visible food particles that remain after your rinse before you obscure the view with foamy toothpaste. Use the bristles of your toothbrush at this point – again, gently – to poke at the brackets and pick under the wires in order to remove any food particles that may be hidden from view.
Tip #3: Use Toothpaste with Fluoride, but Avoid Whitening Toothpastes
The use of fluoride is essential to maintaining strong, healthy enamel and replacing minerals that may be lost during treatment with traditional metal braces. On the other hand, whitening toothpaste and other whitening products should be avoided as they will be effective (if they are effective at all) only on the parts of the teeth with which they come into contact. This could lead to inconsistent coloring when your braces are removed.
Tip #4: Use Gentle Force with a Soft-Bristled Toothbrush
This is good advice even if you don’t wear braces, but if you do wear braces, it is an absolute must. While most people have good intentions when they brush their teeth vigorously, they can actually harm the protective enamel of the teeth by doing so. People who wear braces further risk bending the wires and dislodging the brackets. Using gentle force to brush the teeth will remove just as much plaque and other debris, without doing any harm to the enamel or the braces. Likewise, soft-bristled toothbrushes will pose far less risk of damage than medium- and hard-bristled toothbrushes. (Thankfully, hard-bristled toothbrushes have become nearly impossible to find in retail stores.)
Electric toothbrushes are perfectly acceptable as long as they are used properly.
Tip #5: Brush for at Least Two Full Minutes After Every Meal
Once you have applied toothpaste, brush for at least two full minutes. Be sure to brush after every meal, at least twice a day. If for some reason you cannot brush after a meal, make sure to rinse vigorously with water and then brush your teeth as soon as you can.
Incidentally, it is important to continue to floss after you have braces placed on your teeth. While it may seem more difficult to do so, it can be done quite easily and effectively once you get the hang of it. We will discuss techniques for flossing with braces in a future blog post.
Contact Our Roslyn, NY Orthodontists for More Information
In the meantime, if you have any questions about brushing your teeth with traditional metal braces, or you would like to schedule a consultation at our practice serving Bayside, College Point, Whitestone, and the surrounding areas, please contact Avenue Orthodontics today.
The information provided in this article is not meant to be medical advice and is for educational purposes only. If you would like to learn more about this and other orthodontic-related topics, feel free to contact Avenue Orthodontics by clicking here or by calling 516-484-0234 to reach our Roslyn office or 718-767-8400 to reach our Whitestone office.