Oral Hygiene Dos and Don'ts When You Have Braces

How orthodontics from your dentist in South Naples, FL, can help your smile.

You want a straight smile, so now you have braces. You want a healthy, beautiful smile too, so you need to take special care of your teeth when you have braces. That includes visiting your dentist frequently to monitor your progress and make sure your smile is healthy.

Dr. JW Valentine at Eagle Creek Dentistry in Naples, FL, provides a wide range of preventive, restorative, and cosmetic dentistry services, including orthodontic treatment to help your smile.

When you have braces, it means you need to clean your teeth more carefully to get around the brackets and wires. Frequent, thorough plaque removal is important to prevent tooth decay, gum, and periodontal disease.

If you allow plaque to remain on your teeth, you can also suffer from decalcified or weakened tooth enamel, those annoying “white spots” that can show up after the braces are removed.

So, here are the basics of oral hygiene when you have braces:

Brush your teeth after meals and before bed. A sonic or electric toothbrush can be extremely helpful to get around the brackets and fully remove plaque. If you use a manual toothbrush, make sure you brush every surface of every tooth, and pay close attention along the gumline and around the brackets.

Floss your teeth every day. You can use a floss threader to thread up underneath the wires so you can get in between your teeth. Floss picks or toothpicks are an excellent option to clean around the brackets.

There are also a few things to avoid when you have braces. Remember to avoid eating:

  • Sticky foods, like caramels and chewy candy
  • Hard foods, like nuts, hard bread, and apples

Don’t chew ice cubes, your fingernails, or other hard objects, and don’t use your teeth as tools for opening packages or tearing off tags.

Orthodontics and regular dental appointments can help you achieve your best smile. To find out more about caring for your teeth when you have braces, call Dr. JW Valentine at Eagle Creek Dentistry in Naples, FL. You can reach him in the office by calling (239) 417-6453, so call today.

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