Dental Care During Orthodontic Treatment

Dental care is important, especially during orthodontic treatment. If teeth with braces (or other orthodontic devices) are not cared for as well as they should be, they may develop cavities and tooth decay. This means that you would be switching misaligned teeth for cavities, and what would be the point of that?

It is a bit more difficult to care for teeth undergoing orthodontic treatment than it is to care for uncovered teeth. Devices like braces create barriers between the parts of the teeth they cover and a toothbrush. They also make it harder to floss. What is more, they have inconvenient nooks and crannies where food particles, bacteria and plaque can hide.

This does not mean that dental care is a hassle during orthodontic treatment. All you need to do is pay a little attention and learn a few hacks, and soon you will have straight, healthy teeth with no dental caries.

Taking care of your teeth during orthodontic treatment

1. Adopt a tooth-friendly diet

Even people with no orthodontic devices should stay away from too much sugar and carbonated drinks. For a person with braces, the sugar and acid find their way into the little gaps in the brackets. Because the little gaps are hard to clean, they may accumulate sugar and acids, which the mouth bacteria will feed on to create plaque and soon after, cavities. That is why a person who wears braces should limit the amount of sugar they consume and stay away from sticky foods that could get lodged in the braces.

2. Clean the teeth with extra care

The main goal of a person who has orthodontics is to keep their teeth clean and free of decay while the teeth are being straightened. This goal can be achieved through a good oral hygiene regimen that should take at least twice as long as it takes to clean regular teeth.

The teeth should be cleaned after every meal, and in order to clean all parts of their teeth, a person should:

• Take out all removable parts of the orthodontic device and clean them
• Use an electric toothbrush to scrub around the wires and brackets of the orthodontic appliance
• Brush all the wires of the appliance
• Use an interdental toothbrush to clean all the surfaces of the teeth
• To floss between the teeth, use a threader to get dental floss past the wiring of the appliance
• Rinse the mouth thoroughly with water (preferably warm) when it is not possible to brush after a meal

With floss, an electric interdental toothbrush and five minutes, a person can clean their teeth and remove any harmful things that may have been lodged in their orthodontic appliance.

3. Use products that strengthen the enamel and kill bacteria

A dentist or orthodontist will prescribe products that will keep the mouth healthy for as long as a person has an orthodontic device. They may recommend products that have fluoride, which will strengthen and rebuild the enamel, or anti-bacterial rinses that kill harmful mouth bacteria and prevent cavities and tooth decay from occurring.

4. Get regular dental checkups

Just in case you missed a spot, you should see your dentist a few times a year. During your visits, your appliance will be adjusted, and the dentist will check to make sure that all your teeth are fine. You will also get your teeth cleaned by a professional, as well as pointers on dental care until your orthodontic treatment comes to an end.

Request an appointment here: https://familychoicedentistry.com or call Family Choice Dental at (505) 634-5657 for an appointment in our Albuquerque office.

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