How to brush your teeth with braces

Modern achievements of orthodontics make it possible to correct even the most crooked and ugly teeth. One of the most popular tools in this business is braces. Braces - this is a special design that fixes the teeth in the desired position and gradually aligns them. With the help of braces you can achieve a serious correction. But braces have several drawbacks - the long wearing of the structure, as well as the need for careful care of the teeth.

The path of the patient with braces - long and thorny, requires sufficient return. However, everything pays for a beautiful smile with even teeth. The special design on the teeth not only levels the teeth, but is also a serious obstacle to high-quality cleaning. The fact is that the numerous curves, arcs and ligatures provide an excellent opportunity for the deposition of food residues. This can cause tooth decay and damage to the tooth enamel.If the teeth in the braces are not properly cared for, after removing them, you can find light or dark spots on the surface of the tooth, and sometimes even caries. Did you want to achieve this? That is why brushing your teeth with braces is a very important stage of transformation.

How to brush your teeth with braces

To clean all hard-to-reach areas, you need to know how to properly and in what sequence brush your teeth with braces.

1. First you need to brush your teeth. You can take a regular brush, but for patients with braces there are special brushes with a specific arrangement of bristles. Along the brush, the bristles in the middle are carved into a long tubule. If you look at the brush from the side of the handle, you can see the letter V. Such brushes can be bought at any pharmacy or made independently. To do this, you just need to cut the desired shape with nail scissors.
2. Pasta should also be special. Do not buy whitening pastes - they have a lot of abrasive particles that irritate the tooth surface and scratch the tooth enamel. It is better to choose a post with a high content of fluorine - it covers the teeth and creates a protective film of tooth enamel.Also in the paste should be components such as calcium and phosphorus.
3. Squeeze out a small amount of paste on the brush and start cleaning with the upper jaw and the outer surface of the teeth. The movements should be similar to commas - so you use bristles to push out the remnants of food from under the arcs. Thoroughly brush each tooth for at least 5 seconds and only after that move on to the next tooth. When the outer surface is cleaned, go to the inner surface of the teeth. After that, the same thorough cleaning will be in the teeth of the lower jaw. Clean the interdental spaces, the area around the gums and the molars well - these areas suffer the most.
4. After cleaning with a toothbrush, rinse your mouth with clean water. The next stage is flossing. Some types of threads are made in such a way that they change their thickness. That is, it is convenient to skip the thin part of the thread between the teeth, and then remove the food debris from the thick part of the thread. Floss cleaning should be as thorough. First, the end of the thread is passed through the arc of the structure, and only then is passed into the interdental gap. This allows you to clean the areas of the teeth from the food that the brush could not “pull out”.Thus, it is necessary to thread each gap.
5. Even the most intensive movements with flossing and brushing cannot adequately clean the teeth from plaque on those parts of the tooth that are closed by arcs. For this you will need a brush. Its thin diameter and short bristles make it possible to clean the most hard-to-reach areas.

After all the above procedures, it may seem to you that the cleaning will take forever, but it is not. If you adapt enough, you can spend on cleaning no more than 5 minutes in total. Is it worth it to preserve the beauty and health of your teeth?

Brushing your teeth with braces should be at least three times a day, after each meal. There is another device that can help you out in an emergency, when there is no time for thorough cleaning. This is a waterpik. A special device delivers a stream of water to water with high pressure, this allows you to clean your teeth from plaque and food debris. Some devices can be portable - they do not take up much space in your purse and you can always carry them around. However, remember, the irrigator does not replace thorough cleaning and can only be used as an additional tool.

After all procedures with a brush, irrigator and dental floss, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the oral cavity again. To do this, use special mouthwash. In many restaurants near the sink there is a small capacity in the form of a cooler - there is a mint solution inside it. It is intended for rinsing the mouth after eating. But beware and always carry your own rinse with you just in case.

There are also removable braces, which the patient wears intermittently. Depending on whether you want to take them off during lunch, these braces are also cleaned. If you had lunch with the design, after eating you need to remove it, clean the mouth and the structure itself (with a separate brush), rinse thoroughly and put it on again. If the structure was removed before a meal, it can be simply rinsed under running water before reinstalling. Remember, such constructions should be regularly cleaned by placing in water with a special composition (effervescent tablets for cleansing can be found in the pharmacy).

How to care for your teeth with braces

Cleaning is not a complete list of what a patient with braces should take care of.Here are some tips to help you make wearing braces more comfortable.

1. There are special hand mirrors with a convex surface. They have a magnifying power. Such a pocket mirror will help you to see in detail the hard-to-reach areas of braces and, if necessary, to re-clean.
2. Even with the most thorough and frequent cleaning you will not be able to avoid contamination of tiny hard-to-reach areas between the teeth and under the braces. Therefore, every six months you need to carry out professional cleaning at the dentist. If necessary, it will save you from dental calculus, which is destroyed with a special ultrasonic device.
3. During the cleaning, it is necessary to clean not only the teeth, but also the construction of the braces.
4. At first, after installing braces, cold foods cannot be eaten - low temperatures can affect the arcs of the structure and they can change their position.
5. Also banned are all solid - pieces of meat, seeds, nuts and crackers. They can move the brace, which will lead to additional worries and costs.
6. If you wear braces, chewing gum is also prohibited.
7. For some time you should abandon black tea, coffee and coloring soda. The fact is that even a slight pigment under the bracket can lead to the formation of stains on the tooth surface.
8. If for some reason a part of the bracket has become unstuck or the arc has changed its position, you need to see your doctor as soon as possible.
9. The toothbrush needs to be changed every month, and the brush is even more often.
10. Carry all the necessary accessories for cleaning your teeth all the time - you do not know where you will have lunch today?
11. The first time after installation you need to eat only liquid and soft food. In no case can not eat hard vegetables and fruits, and even more so, bite their front teeth. Your food - mashed potatoes, soups, cereals, yogurt, baby food. Gums can ache - this is normal. To strengthen the gums you need vitamin C, which is abundant in rosehips and citrus fruits. If there are wounds or ulcers on the gums - be sure to contact your orthodontist, perhaps the structure is installed incorrectly.

These simple tips will help you not only enhance the effect of wearing braces, but also significantly reduce the time to align teeth.

Wearing braces is not an easy period.In addition to the need for thorough cleansing, the patient experiences discomfort when talking, while eating, or just at rest (especially at first). But patience and perseverance will help you overcome difficulties on the way to a beautiful smile. Remember the goal, and then any complexity will be surmountable!

Video: dental hygiene with braces