How To Take Care of Your Braces
Taking care of your braces means brushing after every meal, flossing daily with the proper tools, avoiding foods that can damage brackets and wires, wearing your rubber bands exactly as directed and attending every orthodontic appointment. Good braces care helps keep your treatment on track while protecting your teeth and gums.
Summary
- Brush after every meal and floss every day to remove plaque and food around brackets and wires.
- Avoid hard, sticky and chewy foods that can damage your braces.
- Wear your rubber bands as instructed and attend all scheduled orthodontic appointments.
- Protect your braces during sports and avoid habits that put unnecessary stress on your appliances.
Cleaning Your Braces
Keeping your braces clean is one of the most important parts of successful orthodontic treatment. Brackets and wires create additional spaces where food particles and plaque can collect, increasing your risk of cavities, gum inflammation and white spots on your teeth. A consistent oral hygiene routine helps protect your smile while keeping your treatment progressing as planned!
Brushing Your Teeth With Braces
Brushing your teeth with braces takes a little extra time, but the effort is worth it. Aim to brush after every meal using a soft-bristled toothbrush or electric toothbrush along with fluoride toothpaste.
When brushing:
- Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle above the brackets to clean along the gumline
- Angle the brush below the brackets to remove food and plaque underneath the wires
- Brush every surface of each tooth, including the chewing surfaces and backs of your teeth
- Spend at least two minutes brushing each time
- Rinse thoroughly with water to wash away any remaining debris
If you’re away from home, rinsing your mouth with water after eating is helpful until you can brush properly. We recommend taking a travel toothbrush kit with you to school, work, and on trips.
Flossing With Braces
Flossing is just as important as brushing, even though it requires a little more patience with braces. Daily flossing removes plaque and food particles from between your teeth where your toothbrush cannot reach.
A floss threader is a simple tool that makes flossing much easier by helping you guide the floss underneath the archwire before cleaning between each tooth. Once the floss is beneath the wire, gently move it up and down along both sides of the tooth before moving to the next space.
Flossing with braces may take a few extra minutes, but it helps reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease throughout treatment.
Additional Tools to Clean Your Braces
Some optional tools can make caring for your braces even easier. A water flosser uses a stream of water to help flush food particles and plaque from around brackets, wires and along the gumline. While it should not completely replace traditional flossing, it can be an excellent addition to your daily routine.
Proxa brushes (also called interdental brushes) are small brushes designed to clean around brackets, beneath archwires and between teeth. They are especially useful after meals when food becomes trapped in hard-to-reach areas.
Using these tools alongside regular brushing and flossing can help keep your braces and teeth as clean as possible throughout treatment.
Protecting Your Braces From Damage
Braces are designed to withstand everyday chewing, but certain foods and habits can bend wires, break brackets or delay treatment. Taking a few simple precautions can help prevent unexpected repairs and keep your orthodontic treatment moving forward.
Foods To Avoid With Braces
Certain foods place excessive pressure on your braces and should be avoided throughout treatment. Try to avoid:
- Crunching on hard candies
- Popcorn
- Nuts
- Sticky candies like caramel or taffy
- Chewy bagels
- Hard pretzels
- Corn on the cob
- Biting into whole apples (slice them into smaller pieces instead)
This doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all of your favorite foods, though! In many cases, cutting foods into bite-sized pieces and chewing carefully with your back teeth can reduce the risk of damaging your braces.
Wearing Braces and Playing Sports
You can absolutely continue participating in sports and other extracurriculars while wearing braces. However, protecting your smile is essential.
If you play contact or recreational sports, wear an orthodontic mouthguard every time you practice or compete. Orthodontic mouthguards are specially designed to fit comfortably over braces while helping protect your teeth, lips and orthodontic appliances from injury.
If you experience a hit to the mouth or notice any damage to your braces after playing sports, contact us as soon as possible.
Avoid Certain Habits With Braces
Some everyday habits can put stress on your braces and damage brackets or wires.
Avoid these habits while in treatment:
- Biting your fingernails
- Chewing on ice
- Chewing on pens or pencils
- Opening packages with your teeth
- Biting bottle caps or other hard objects
These habits can bend wires, loosen brackets and even damage your teeth. Protecting your braces helps prevent unnecessary repairs and treatment delays.
Wearing Your Rubber Bands
If we give you rubber bands (elastics) to wear with your braces, wearing them exactly as instructed is essential for achieving the best possible results. Rubber bands help correct your bite by applying gentle pressure that works together with your braces.
Skipping days or wearing your elastics inconsistently can slow your progress and may extend your overall treatment time. If you run out of rubber bands, contact us as soon as possible so you can continue your treatment without interruption.
Visiting the Orthodontist With Braces
Regular visits to our Beavercreek, Bellefontaine or Springfield offices allow us to monitor your progress and make adjustments that keep your treatment moving forward. During these visits, we may tighten or adjust your wires, replace elastics and ensure your teeth are moving as expected.
If you experience a loose bracket, poking wire or another orthodontic concern between appointments, get in touch with our office so we can determine the best next steps and help keep your treatment on schedule.
Come to Dhingra Orthodontics for Braces Expertise
Taking care of your braces doesn’t have to be complicated. By brushing and flossing every day, protecting your braces from damage and following our instructions, you’ll help create the healthy, confident smile you’re working towards.
At Dhingra Orthodontics, we’re here to support you through every stage of your smile journey. Whether you have questions about caring for your braces or you’re considering orthodontic treatment for the first time, our experienced team is ready to help.
Schedule your free consultation today to learn more about braces and discover the treatment option that’s right for your smile!