Best At Home Teeth Cleaning Tools to Use with Braces
Straightening your teeth using braces to achieve a healthy, well-aligned, and good smile requires a lot of commitment. Unfortunately, brace wires and brackets create uneven surfaces in your mouth and teeth that food can get stuck, making it daunting to achieve good oral hygiene. As such, flossing and cleaning your teeth using any toothbrush won’t be effective. You should invest in the best cleaning tools for teeth with braces. Below are a few tools to use to ensure optimal oral hygiene.
1. Manual Toothbrush
You should brush your teeth with braces regularly to avoid the accumulation of food debris that produces bacteria and damaging acid. Flossing and brushing are the basic teeth-cleaning techniques available to most people. However, the challenge is in picking the product. Using a hard bristle toothbrush can damage braces and wires. Therefore, use soft and effective toothbrushes approved for use in teeth with braces.
You should also change your brushing technique. Using a wrong brushing technique, such as pressing hard the brush head against brackets, can break them. Similarly, poor brushing techniques won’t clear food debris. Consult your dentists about the best toothbrush and brushing technique for teeth with braces.
2. Electric Toothbrush
Most orthodontists recommend the use of electric toothbrushes for dental patients with braces. They remove food particles and plaques effectively. Several established brands manufacture brush heads that clean teeth with braces safely. An electric toothbrush doesn’t exert much pressure on the braces and removes debris and particles from hard-to-reach areas.
3. Flossing
Candidates for dental implants should also have good oral health. Dental infections and other oral problems significantly interfere with the surgical process. You should also commit to taking great care of your oral hygiene after the process, especially areas around the gum. Dentists recommend daily flossing, brushing, and routine follow-ups to keep the implants healthy.
4. Understand the Dental Implants Process
Brackets and wires minimize the effectiveness of traditional floss. Fortunately, these flossing tools effectively work around wires and clean between teeth, where food particles and plaques get trapped:
- Ortho flossers – are special flossers specifically designed for teeth with braces. They floss between the teeth and under the wires safely and effectively.
- Water flossers – A water flosser, also known as an oral irrigator, is a handheld oral care device that directs a stream of water between your teeth and gums, removing food debris, plaque, and bacteria.
5. Fluoride Toothpaste
You should use fluoride toothpaste to clean teeth with braces. Using the wrong toothpaste for teeth with braces won’t make your teeth germ-free, causing stains, tooth decay, and gum diseases.
Conclusion
Besides choosing the right cleaning tools, you should know some tips for cleaning teeth with braces. For instance, you should brush twice or thrice daily, floss at least once, and change your brush head regularly.
For patients who wish to straighten their smiles discreetly, Shemen Dental Group LLP in Amarillo, TX, offers Invisalign® clear aligners as a faster and more comfortable alternative. This removable system gradually shifts your teeth into place, providing patients with a beautiful, straighter smile in less time than traditional orthodontics. As Invisalign Preferred Providers, Dr. Eddy Sauer, Jr. and Dr. Nathaniel Avirett are highly qualified to perform custom treatments, and can combine Invisalign with Propel Orthodontics for even faster results. We also provide Invisalign Teen, a special variation of this treatment designed especially for adolescents, and Invisalign Express, an expedited treatment option.
