If you are on your journey with braces then this blog post is meant for you. In the following sections of the post, we will explore certain tips. As a result, your treatment proves to be effective and you get a more beautiful and healthy smile at the end of your journey. The tips also prove helpful in maintaining sound oral hygiene throughout the period of wearing braces.
Keep Your Braces Clean
It is important to keep cleaning your orthodontic braces at regular intervals. When your braces are clean, there is much less chance of harmful plaque build-ups in your mouth. This in turn also lessens your chances of suffering from enamel deterioration or formation of cavities in the tooth. Just wearing the braces is not the only criterion that ensures a successful outcome of orthodontic treatment. It is equally important to care for your braces and keep those clean to secure desired results from your treatment. Now let us go through a few important tips that help maintain optimum oral hygiene during your days of wearing braces.
Maintaining Sound Oral Hygiene With Braces
- A team of invisalign providers in London suggests while you are on braces you should brush your teeth at least twice a day. However, if it is possible you should brush even more. The best thing is to brush after every meal and snack. This avoids food debris from getting caught between the teeth or in your brackets. These stuck food particles lead to a build-up of harmful plaque. Plaque may stain the teeth and can also lead to the formation of cavities in the tooth. When your brackets are clean these chances are much more unlikely to occur. Regular handheld toothbrushes prove to be an excellent tool to keep your mouth free from plaques. However, you must master the proper brushing technique. These days many people invest in electric toothbrushes. That is also okay provided you want some extra power in cleaning your teeth. But the most important thing you can do is keep your teeth as well as the braces clean.
- It is equally important to floss the teeth once daily. Flossing is undeniably a time-consuming task. You have to thread the floss through your teeth to perform flossing. But this proves an effective means to keep your mouth free from harmful plaque build-ups. Plaques contain harmful bacteria that make cavities in the tooth and cause gum disease. When you floss the teeth every day your mouth is less prone to diseases. This also ensures your teeth move faster and better. And that is exactly what anyone, who undergoes the procedure, wants, right?. These days, electronic water flosses are also quite common. These prove helpful in keeping your mouth healthy and free from diseases.
- Disclosing tablets prove helpful for you to see or identify the zones in your mouth where plaque build-ups are most frequent. You may ask your invisalign provider to help you with these disclosing tablets.
- Build a healthy food habit. Stop chewing on non-food items like your nails and pencil tips. Nail biting is a nasty and unhygienic habit. Unfortunately, a lot of people are habitual nail-biters. Pencil tips, pen caps, and your nails are all considered hard items for your brackets. Your brackets may get damaged if you do not change your nasty habits immediately. Avoid any hard item to make sure there is no damage to your brackets.
- Once you have the teeth cleaned it is okay to cover up the pokey areas of the mouth using dental wax. You get this wax from your orthodontic expert.
Food Items You Should Skip While on Braces
You should avoid the following food items while you are on braces.
- Do not chew on ice. In fact, ice is not exactly a food item. Chewing on ice cubes often proves damaging. It can damage and even break your brackets. Moreover, it can lead to the formation of cracks in the tooth. Suck on ice as much as you want. But do not chew on those or try biting them down.
- Taffy, caramel and gummy bears are also better to avoid. The candy is too sticky to take your wires and brackets off from their position. Avoiding this kind of sticky and gooey candies is a safer option for both your braces and the treatment.
- Hard pretzels may even damage the orthodontic brackets quite easily.
- Taco shells and hard chips are also harmful to your brackets. So it is better to avoid those suggestions from one of the best Invisalign Providers in London.
- While you are on braces it is also important to avoid eating raw vegetables and hard fruits like carrots and apples. Chewing on these items may result in breaking off the brackets. The brackets may even get stuck in your teeth to make the matter worse.
- Avoid nuts, popcorn, and certain seeds that are hard at all costs. These items can break your brackets and wires easily. Even if you have those items be very careful and cautious while eating. Still, it is better to avoid eating these items.
- Hard candies are also to be avoided. Most people prefer chewing on hard candies. And that could be dangerous for your orthodontic appliances. So it is better to avoid it.
In addition to the ones mentioned above, there are many other food items you must avoid says a dentist working at the renowned Smile Clinic London. Your orthodontic expert will instruct you on those. Make sure to follow through with those instructions.
