Braces And Good Dental Hygiene

Braces play an important role in making sure that your teeth come in straight and without any complications. This is important for making sure that your smile is good-looking and healthy, but it also ensures that your teeth won’t twist out of place years later. Improperly aligned teeth can cause practical problems along with cosmetic ones, since it can be hard to chew when your upper and lower teeth don’t make contact and teeth that push up against one another can cause pain and infections.

Still, as important as braces are, they complicate matters when it comes to eating and cleaning your teeth. It’s not very easy to floss when there’s a metal band blocking your gums, and it adds a lot of small spaces where bits of food can hide. As such, there are a few things you should keep in mind so long as there are metal studs attached to your teeth:

 

Be Careful What You Put In Your Mouth

Steel is very strong, and so is enamel, but the braces are attached to your teeth with a special glue that’s weak enough that it won’t damage your teeth when the braces come off. However, this means that it’s possible to break your braces if you don’t pay attention to what you eat.

For instance, tough foods that require you to bite hard can rub against your braces and wear them down over time. This includes stiff fruits like apples and pears along with vegetables like corn on the cob. You don’t have to cut such things out of your diet entirely, but you do need to cut them into smaller, easier to eat pieces.

However, there are other foods which you should avoid eating entirely. Things like gum and popcorn can leave debris behind that easily gets caught in your braces, and not only will it contribute to tooth decay and make your breath stink as it starts to rot, it also makes the dentist or orthodontist’s job harder when it comes time to adjust the braces.

 

Be Thorough When You Brush

Between all the tiny spaces your braces add and the fact that you can’t floss properly, you need to be very deliberate when it comes time to brush your teeth. Make sure you brush at an angle so the bristles can work their way past the braces, and move slowly and steadily as you brush each tooth in turn. The last thing you need is a cavity hidden away where your dentist can’t easily reach.

Braces are a great help in making sure your teeth are straight and healthy, but you need to care for them to make sure they do their job properly. After all, if your braces bend or break, it’ll mean having to go in for repairs and potentially adding months to the time you need to wear them, and that’s a fate that nobody wants.