Having braces means paying a lot more attention to your teeth and your dental hygiene. Once you get the braces, you need to do everything properly, because otherwise, you’ll wear the braces for nothing. To avoid such scenarios, here is a list of things you should do to keep your teeth healthy while wearing braces.
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Brush your teeth regularly
Before you get to thinking of the brushing technique, you should consider all the times when you should brush your teeth. The best practice is to clean your braces after each meal. Even though this is the best option, it’s often unmanageable to brush the teeth after every meal. Even if you don’t have a toothbrush at all times, make sure to at least rinse your mouth out with water. This, you can do immediately after you’ve eaten.
When it comes to the technique of brushing, you should keep a few things in mind. You should brush as thoroughly as you can. Make sure to cover all parts of the brackets, each tooth and each side of the teeth. Don’t forget to brush along the gum line, tongue, and roof of your mouth either. You should brush for at least two minutes. Get a quality toothbrush and get on brushing!
Floss your teeth
Flossing is a bit harder with braces, but nevertheless, you shouldn’t neglect it. This is an important practice and you should do it at least once a day to keep your dental hygiene at point. Food particles can easily end up between the teeth and flossing is the best way to remove them. You shouldn’t forget to rinse your mouth once you’ve finished flossing. This, of course, doesn’t apply for situations when you’re using a water flosser.
Watch what you eat
When it comes to food, you should keep in mind that food has an important impact on the health of your teeth. Your diet should be tooth-friendly. This means that you should avoid soft drinks, oranges, and vinaigrette dressings. Next to these, sugary foods are bad for your teeth, too. They increase the chances of developing a cavity and they can damage your teeth significantly.
Speaking of the foods you should avoid, potato chips are also bad for the teeth since they can cause tooth decay. Once you’ve learned what shouldn’t be on your plate, you can relax and enjoy it. Cheese, for instance, is one of the foods that can reduce the acidity leading to tooth decay.
Visit a dentist
With all the great care of the teeth you do, help from a dental professionals is still necessary. Make sure to do regular cleaning and check-ups at least twice a year.
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What professionals, like the ones in Pindan Dental Laboratory can do, and you couldn’t on your own, is to tell you what you may be doing wrong. They can tell you which areas you should pay more attention to, and how to adapt your brushing and flossing techniques to your teeth.
Know what to avoid
The first thing you should avoid while wearing braces is sweet food. Once you notice that the food is sticky, chewy, or hard, you should immediately decide not to eat it. If the food has any of these characteristics, it will most probably end up stuck under the wires. Not only will it be bad for your teeth, but it will also make more work for you when you get to brushing and flossing. Hard food has a high chance of breaking the wires or dislodging brackets. Make sure to get rid of nasty habits such as biting nails. This activity is bad on its own, but it damages the braces too.
Step up your dental hygiene
You may not always be prepared for taking perfect care of your teeth. What you should do is prepare a mini dental hygiene kit that you can carry with you. This way, you will always be ready for treating your teeth and braces the way you should. A soft-bristled toothbrush and a mini tube of toothpaste should be the main parts of your mini kit. If you’re eating outside, make sure to visit the restroom after the meal. You can quickly brush and rinse your teeth there.
Conclusion
These steps may seem obvious, but people tend to sometimes forget how important they are. Even if they seem like an unimportant habit, this shouldn’t trick you. They will matter a lot in the long run.
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