Brushing and Flossing With Braces

Brushing and flossing is very important after every meal in order to keep your teeth and gums healthy throughout your Top Mckinney Orthodontics treatment. If you need help choosing the right toothbrush, toothpaste or dental floss, please ask one of our Smiles Hollywood Orthodontic Registered Dental Assistants. They are always up-to-date on the latest and greatest products for keeping your teeth clean and healthy!

 

Brushing with braces

Mckinney Orthodontics Brushing 1Your work-in-progress Hollywood Smile requires a little bit of extra tender loving care while it is in the transitional phase. Be sure to brush your teeth for two minutes after every meal with a soft-bristled, small-head toothbrush and a fluoride toothpaste. As an alternative, you can use an electric toothbrush to increase your brushing Top Mckinney Orthodontics effectiveness. Brush the outside and inside surfaces (on top) of your teeth using small, gentle, circular motions while positioning the head of the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gum line. Brush the top chewing surfaces of your teeth and the inside surface of your front teeth using short, gentle, back-and-forth motions. Pay close attention to the areas around your brackets or other appliances. Please remember to never brush your teeth horizontally back and forth in a sawlike motion. This can cause you to get gum recession which is where your gums go down on the teeth and part of the roots of the teeth start to show. This can cause your gums to become very sensitive to hot and cold liquids, and can be very uncomfortable.

Using an electric toothbrush is really good for your teeth! There are several different brands of electric toothbrushes on the market. There have been several reviews of electric toothbrushes and they show that electric toothbrushes DO decrease more plaque and gingivitis than manual toothbrushes. The rotating toothbrushes seem to work better than just the vibrating toothbrushes. Smiles Hollywood Orthodontics carries them at the front desk, if you are interested. Please just ask one of our friendly front desk employees for pricing and any questions you may have. Electric Top Mckinney Orthodontics toothbrushes are great for all members of the family to use! We highly recommend them for the entire family! They are super easy to use and take all of the “work” out of brushing your teeth plus they are also fun to use. So, if you are having problems motivating your child to brush their teeth, we highly recommend trying an electric toothbrush. It puts the “fun” back in brushing teeth!

 

Flossing with braces

In addition to brushing your teeth, flossing your teeth while wearing braces can make your mouth feel oh-so-clean! Flossing after every meal will help keep your teeth and braces sparkling, which will also help keep your treatment time on track. Flossing is so very important while wearing braces and/or other orthodontic appliances. Particles of food can easily get stuck between your wire and your gum line and if not removed soon, it can cause a gum infection. If your gums do become puffy or red or start to hurt, please let Smiles Hollywood Orthodontics know, and we will get you into our office to irrigate and remove any particles of difficult food. Please don’t let it go too long, so we can get you back on the road to your beautiful smile! It is vital to floss while wearing braces or any Top Mckinney Orthodontics appliance, however, it is more difficult. With braces, one must use a floss threader, which is a special tool to floss under the braces. A floss threader looks like a large plastic threading needle. First you must tie one end of the floss to the needle eye and then use the plastic flexible needle part to put under your wire and floss between the teeth. Gently slide the floss between each set of teeth using a back and forth motion. Floss the sides of each tooth beneath the gum line to remove plaque and food particles. Then you must repeat this same process for each tooth. If you find that using a floss threader is too difficult then ask us about a water flosser!

Water flossers are an automated handheld flosser that squirts water out in a steady stream and you spray it between each of your teeth. A lot of patients will use the water flosser in the shower so that the water sprays out in the shower, rather than all over the counter or mirror above your sink. Moms appreciate this piece of advice. Water flossers really are amazing and are really great for your gums too. There are a few brands of water flossers and we do carry them at our front desk at Smiles Hollywood Orthodontics. If you are interested in seeing one of them or have any questions, please ask one of our knowledgeable Top Mckinney Orthodontics assistants or one of our friendly front desk specialists. They are happy to tell you all about them.

Overall, Brushing and Flossing your teeth is critical and very important to each patient’s orthodontic success. It’s very important to keep your teeth very healthy during orthodontic treatment, since there are so many areas where food particles and bacteria can hide. Some patients have asked us if they should brush first or floss first. Dr. Crise recommends that you floss first to remove food and debris and then brush to get around all of the brackets. If you use a water flosser, it often encourages patients to floss even more when they see all the food particles and debris that come out of their teeth and gums. Smiles Hollywood Orthodontics recommends brushing your teeth at least two times per day, but after every meal would be even better! Then, please floss or use a water flosser a minimum of one time per day. It will take more time to do all of these things in the bathroom, but it will be well worth it when you get your braces off and see your beautiful and healthy smile! Smiles Hollywood Top Mckinney Orthodontics is here to help you every step of the way to help our patients have the best possible oral hygiene and the most beautiful Hollywood Smiles!

 

Click here to schedule your FREE Smiles Hollywood Orthodontics evaluation or call (972)529-9700 to speak with someone on our dynamic team!

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