4 Steps To Establishing A Great Relationship With Your Braces
If you have a misaligned bite or crooked teeth, various treatments can help straighten your teeth, including retainers and braces. While numerous general dentists perform basic alignments, orthodontists specialize in rectifying teeth irregularities.
If braces are your solution, you’ll need to care for them. This can be difficult, particularly when you wish to enjoy a tasty treat or you’re too tired to follow the cleaning routine. However, ignoring your oral hygiene could result in severe oral health issues, forcing you to spend extra time in braces or cause unsightly teeth staining. Follow our guide and the steps to follow for having a great relationship with your braces.
Perfect your Brushing
Brushing is significant whether you wear braces or not. However, it becomes particularly significant while undergoing orthodontic treatment. Wearing braces increases the likelihood of plaque and food getting trapped in the brackets and causing issues. Therefore, you must use a soft-head toothbrush to access those difficult-to-reach areas.
It’s ok if you prefer to use an electric toothbrush; begin by brushing at your teeth’s gum line holding the toothbrush at 45 degrees towards your gums. After cleaning your gum line, hold the toothbrush downward above your brackets and at an upward angle to clean beneath the brackets. Although people generally need to brush twice daily, we recommend you brush after each meal if you wear braces.
Avoid Some Foods
While undergoing treatment we’ll provide a list of the foods you must avoid during treatment. Beware that anything sticky, chewy, or crunchy is likely to be on that list. Furthermore, if you’re the kind of person who’s constantly nibbling your nails or chewing pens’ lids, you’ll have to curb this habit fast!
These kinds of foods and habits can bend or break your braces. It’s important you avoid sugary drinks and foods because they can cause decay and staining around the brackets. Keep in mind that the stains could be permanent and will become more noticeable upon removal; this won’t help you attain the ideal smile.
Keep Your Appointments
We all forget orthodontic checkups and dental appointments. However, it’s vital you remain on top of your appointments for adjustments and checkups. Remember, an orthodontist needs to adjust your braces throughout the treatment duration so they continue working and benefiting your smile. It’s important to keep the appointment times specified by your orthodontist, or risk delay to treatment. This is especially pertinent during adult orthodontic treatment, when the shortest treatment time is generally preferred.
The appointments also seek to ensure that you’ve maintained proper hygiene and cleaning to avoid further problems.
Guard Your Braces & Mouth
Wearing braces doesn’t imply that you should stop doing the things you enjoy. It simply means you should be more careful. When engaging in activities that could harm your mouth or face specifically, wear protection. For instance, consider a mouth guard if you’re playing sport. We recommend you buy a tailored mouth guard that’s fitted to your teeth; this is both comfortable and protective.
If you have any concerns or queries about taking care of your braces, contact our orthodontic surgery or request and appointment. While proper maintenance can seem tedious, you’ll end up with a great outcome.
