The At-Home Guide for Braces Care
If you recently invested in braces you may be overwhelmed by the number of rules by which you must abide to keep your mouth healthy and your new system intact. Our team at Oubre Orthodontics gets it. Braces have several tiny crevices in which food can get stuck. If allowed to stay stuck, the trapped food particles can cause plaque, which can lead to countless other oral health problems, such as decay, gum disease, and tooth loss. That said, caring for braces is a big responsibility, but a necessary one. This at home guide is designed to help you prepare for life with braces and to make the transition from no brackets to brackets as seamless as possible.
Brushing
Brushing, a technique you learned when you were just a toddler, may suddenly become much more complicated when you have braces. If you have metal braces, you must detach all elastics and other removable components of your orthodontic system. To get beneath the wires and pins of your braces, hold your toothbrush at an angle. Brush each wire from the top down. Next, focus on the teeth, cleaning each one one-by-one. Start at the gum line and work your way toward the surface of the tooth. Be sure to hit each surface of each tooth.
Flossing
Like brushing, flossing is something you learned to do early on in your life. However, like with brushing, you must relearn how to floss with braces. Wearers of both metal and clear braces should receive special flossing tools such as a waterpik and threader, which are designed to more easily clear debris beneath the wires and bands. With the right tools, you can keep plaque at bay and ensure the overall success of your treatment.
Professional Care
Regardless of how well you care for your braces at home, the key to successful brace treatment is routine orthodontist visits. An orthodontist can help thoroughly clean your teeth, change up bands, tighten wires and do what is necessary to minimize treatment time and maximize the outcome.
Contact Oubre Orthodontics Today
If you or a loved one has recently received braces in Lafayette, LA, reach out to our team to discuss at-home care options today. You can reach us by phone or online.