The treatment process with an orthodontist requires responsibility from the patient, so you need to follow a number of rules - both in nutrition and in cleaning. The doctor will definitely tell you about this at the appointment. By themselves, neither aligners, nor even obsolete metal braces harm tooth enamel and do not cause caries. Only improper care, including insufficient hygiene, is harmful.
Those who wear aligners or braces need to get used to brushing their teeth constantly.
After eating, small particles of food always remain on the teeth. If it contained carbohydrates, an acidic environment immediately appears in the mouth, harmful to the enamel. But saliva, which has a slightly alkaline reaction, gradually washes away plaque and neutralizes the acid.
If the patient wears braces, this plaque becomes too much, since food gets clogged under the arch and remains around the braces. Saliva will not be able to “neutralize” all the acid. This does not happen with aligners because they are removed for eating. But if you put aligners on teeth that have not been cleaned, the plaque will remain under the aligner, and the acid will also destroy the enamel.
Therefore, all the basic rules during treatment with an orthodontist are related to teeth cleaning.
Brush your teeth after eating and drinking
This is the basis of the basics, the main rule of the orthodontist patient. You don't have to brush your teeth except after drinking water. If you have 3 main meals and 2 snacks during the day, then there should be 5 brushes and pastes. Only in this case will it be possible to wear braces or aligners for 12–15 months without harming your teeth.
Most of the food remains in the braces, and among all the systems, the most inconvenient in this sense are ligature ones. The arch is attached with rubber bands (ligatures), because of this, the braces themselves occupy a large surface of the tooth, food gets under the arch and under the ligatures.
Modern non-ligature braces are more convenient. They are small in size, their clasps into which the arc is attached are smooth, so large pieces of food usually do not get stuck in them. But you still need to brush your teeth constantly.
And removable aligners do not affect the nutrition process at all. The main thing is not to leave them wrapped in a napkin while eating (this can cause them to break). But with this system, you won’t be able to avoid brushing: after all, you need to put the aligners on your cleaned teeth immediately after eating.
What to do if you spend a lot of time away from home, at work or traveling? The solution is elixirs and other mouthwashes, disposable brushes with paste already applied to them. If you have absolutely nothing on hand, you can get by with rinsing with water. But this should not become a system.
How to properly clean braces and teeth
Brushing teeth with braces takes about 20-30 minutes and should sequentially include the following steps:
- Using an orthodontic brush. After applying the toothpaste, begin brushing with slow horizontal movements along the arc. The latches of the braces are cleaned with slight pressure to remove dirt in hard-to-reach places. First the upper jaw is cleaned, then the lower jaw. Next, the brush is turned at a slight angle so that the bristles touch well the line between the gum and teeth. Cleaning is performed using comma-shaped movements to remove as much as possible all existing dirt.
- Cleaning with a mono-tuft brush. The bundle of paste is placed under a metal arc, carefully cleaning the locks and wire from all sides. Then it is worth cleaning the surface of each tooth, the line between the teeth and the gingival sulcus.
- The purpose of the brush is to clean hard-to-reach areas. To do this, the instrument is placed under a metal arc and plaque and food debris are removed using rotational translational movements.
- The irrigator is designed to wash away microparticles of food that previous devices could not remove, as well as to massage the gums. The use of special liquids improves the results and guarantees dental health.
- Flossing is a mandatory step in care when wearing braces. Carefully, so as not to damage the gums, use dental floss to clean the gaps between the teeth, as well as the areas near the locks. The thread is passed behind the arch and only then into the interdental space.
- Rinsing your mouth with a special composition is the last step of care.
The entire sequence must be performed two to three times a day - after each meal. If for some reason it is not possible to carry out hygienic manipulations, you can shorten the care procedure - use foam, floss and rinse.
Also, to maintain the ideal condition of the braces system, it is recommended to periodically have professional teeth cleaning in the dentist’s office.
The basic algorithm for cleaning teeth with braces can be seen in the video: the video will show how to use each device and what to pay special attention to.
It is worth understanding that care recommendations are standard. Individual selection of funds occurs at an appointment with the orthodontist, taking into account the installed braces system and the characteristics of the patient’s teeth.
Take time to cleanse in the evening
At work or at university, it is difficult to clean your teeth efficiently, so once or twice a day you need to do a thorough cleaning using brushes. Each brush must be placed under the arch and the interdental spaces and the space under the arch must be cleaned. But this is only relevant for those who wear braces.
To clean braces, a brush with a brush is useful; when treating aligners, a regular or electric brush is sufficient.
It’s easier with aligners: you can brush your teeth with an ultrasonic electric toothbrush. They often have a timer that measures the required 2 minutes. To make sure that your teeth are clean, you can use an elixir with the function of “revealing” plaque - as a rule, after such a rinse, you have to brush your teeth again.
For convenience and comfort, all orthodontic patients can have an irrigator at home - a device that cleans teeth with a thin stream of water under pressure. Water literally “knocks out” all the remaining food from hard-to-reach places and massages the gums, which is useful not only during orthodontic treatment, but in general always.
An irrigator helps keep your teeth perfectly clean
Is an ultrasonic brush suitable for caring for braces?
Among electric toothbrushes, there are ultrasonic models that act on oral impurities using ultrasound. A number of dentists do not recommend using ultrasonic brushes to clean braces, as they can lead to rapid wear and damage to the structure. Others allow the use of an ultrasonic brush to clean orthodontic appliances.
To avoid damage to the structure, we recommend that before using an ultrasonic brush, you consult with the dentist who installed the braces.
Have it professionally cleaned
Ultrasonic cleaning is not recommended if braces are installed - ultrasound can weaken the adhesive bond between the braces and the teeth. But Air Flow for fixed systems is completely safe. Such cleaning once every 4-5 months will help the entire treatment period pass without plaque, which provokes caries. Those who wear aligners can have both Air Flow and ultrasonic cleaning.
Plaque appears in all people, even in those who brush their teeth very carefully. Therefore, such cleaning is recommended to everyone approximately once every 6 months, and if indicated, a little more often.
When wearing braces and aligners, you should periodically undergo professional cleaning at the clinic.
Can wearing braces harm your teeth?
There is an opinion that braces can ruin teeth, damage enamel, and provoke the development of caries and other oral diseases. Dentists claim that modern braces installed by a professional orthodontist in a good clinic are absolutely safe for your teeth if you are not allergic to the materials.
Problems arise when the user violates the doctor’s recommendations and neglects the rules of hygienic care. If you do not properly and thoroughly clean your braces and the teeth underneath them, then pathological processes may begin in the oral cavity. Plaque that accumulates near braces promotes the proliferation of microbes and increases the risk of developing caries, gingivitis, and stomatitis.
This is easy to prevent; you just need to brush your teeth with braces in a timely manner and correctly.
Avoid improvised means
If you don’t have a brush or toothpick at hand, you shouldn’t try to remove a stuck piece of meat with a straightened paper clip or needle. This is dangerous both for the braces system and for your own health. You can use special dental floss. When wearing a non-removable structure, its tip can be placed under the arch. Such cleaning requires care, otherwise you can tear the arc out of the grooves.
This is how you floss your teeth if you have braces.
What braces care products do orthodontists recommend using?
As for toothpaste, it is better to give preference to one that contains fluoride and xylitol. You can also choose a mouthwash with a similar composition. Fluoride will help prevent tooth decay, and xylitol will protect against bacteria and germs. Also, xylitol-based products leave a pleasant feeling of coolness, which allows you to forget about the presence of iron braces in your mouth for a while.
As for home remedies, dentists recommend using plain salt water as a rinse. Rapa will quickly relieve pain, which often occurs in the first month after installation of the system, and will also destroy bacteria in the oral cavity. Salt water will help heal sores and cuts that may appear on the gums or the mucous membranes on the inside of the cheek. To prevent damage to mucous membranes, it is better to use professional braces care products.
Don't forget to drink water
Pure water quenches thirst well, refreshes the oral cavity and does not contribute to the appearance of plaque, unlike tea and coffee. If the mucous membrane of the lips is sufficiently moisturized, it is not susceptible to drying out (especially in winter, when indoor air is dry), which means there is less risk that the orthodontic system will cause irritation.
All these rules are simple, and you get used to them within the first few days after starting treatment. Once adapted, they are easy to follow and do not interfere with your active life. In addition, the habit of brushing your teeth thoroughly remains, as a rule, for life, which also contributes to maintaining health.
More articles:
- Back to the orthodontist? All about re-treatment
- What hurts more: braces or aligners?
Why do you need special care for your teeth after getting braces?
We have already considered the first and most important reason - braces interfere with the ability to effectively clean teeth from food and soft plaque. This is why brushing teeth with braces with a regular brush is ineffective. Over time, the plaque will begin to thicken and get rid of it will become even more difficult. Moreover, bad breath will become your constant companion, despite rinses and mouth fresheners. By the way, you will also not be able to use chewing gum due to the presence of the same braces in your mouth!
If caries has developed on a tooth, then before starting treatment, the dentist will remove the braces from it, suspending the process of correcting the bite until the end of therapy. In addition to the fact that this lengthens the overall treatment time, removing and reinstalling braces is a paid procedure. Therefore, careful dental care will not only allow you to quickly get the coveted “Hollywood” smile, but also prevent unnecessary financial expenses.
Ultrasonic brush for cleaning teeth with braces
Ultrasonic brushes can greatly simplify oral hygiene for orthodontic patients. A brush operating on pure ultrasound does not even require sweeping movements on the surface of the teeth, which means that its head does not wear out due to constant friction against the clasps and arches of braces, and there is no risk of damaging the structure. Ultrasound effectively removes plaque and even tartar, penetrates deeply into the gums, and fights microbes in periodontal pockets. Using a special toothpaste that can create microbubbles allows you to clean your mouth even more efficiently.
A special brush is a must have for braces wearers
Orthodontic structures require increased attention from their owners. It is necessary to carefully monitor your diet so as not to damage the archwires, ligatures or break off the clasps. It is especially important to properly and fully carry out hygiene, which, as you might guess, is very difficult for wearers of braces. Can I clean my braces with a regular brush? If you do not brush your teeth properly, especially at the place where the locks are attached, at the gums and in the spaces between teeth, demineralization of the enamel, multiple caries, and gum inflammation may occur. Therefore, oral hygiene products must be special: not only able to fit into all possible gaps in the structure, but also without the risk of damaging it.
What toothbrushes should you buy to care for braces?
For complete care, one v-shaped brush is not enough. In order to be sure that the teeth under the braces system are perfectly cleaned, you need to have several more types of brushes in your arsenal.
Interdental.
This type is used to clean spaces between brackets as well as areas under metal arches. Interdental brushes are available in different sizes, so they can also be used for deep cleaning of interdental spaces.
Mono-beam.
The mono-beam brush has a curved shape, thanks to which it can reach even the most difficult to reach places. This type of brush is intended for caring for braces, not teeth. Even the smallest clasps and ligatures will be perfectly clean with daily use of mono-tuft brushes.
It is worth knowing that any type of brush will wear out several times faster. This is due to the fact that when cleaning a metal system, the bristles can be pulled out. Therefore, you will have to change all care accessories much more often than recommended on the package.
Step-by-step instruction
Before you begin, you will have to make sure that you have in your arsenal such devices as:
- Toothbrush – it is recommended to choose it together with your dentist, taking into account the individual characteristics of the oral cavity. A brush with V-shaped bristles is ideal, allowing you to both clean your braces after meals and monitor hygiene in the morning and evening.
- Brush - will allow you to remove food debris under the metal plate, where the brush cannot reach.
- Super-floss is a special dental floss that allows you to clean not only in the interdental spaces, but also in the most difficult areas around braces. We have already written about how to use dental floss correctly.
- Toothpaste enriched with fluoride and calcium will restore the deficiency of nutrients, strengthen the enamel and make the tooth surface as smooth as possible, so that it is more difficult for bacteria to stay on it.
- Irrigator - this device will help you remove as much food debris as possible in hard-to-reach places where a brush, thread and brush simply cannot reach. It directs a stream of water or a special liquid under pressure, after which you just need to rinse your mouth. Here is a rating of the best devices of this type.
All these devices (with pictures and examples of the best of the best) are described in more detail in this article.
How to properly brush your teeth with braces after meals, as well as in the morning and evening? The sequence of actions is as follows:
- Rinse your mouth with warm water to moisten it and remove any remaining food.
- Take a brush, wet it with water and apply toothpaste.
- First, treat the inside of the teeth, where there are no metal parts. To do this, brush your teeth with sweeping vertical movements from the gums to the edge of the tooth.
- Brush the surfaces of your chewing teeth. Here you can use circular movements.
- Use a brush with V-shaped bristles to clean the front of your teeth. To do this, apply a brush with paste, press lightly and begin cleaning with horizontal movements.
- Take a circular brush and thoroughly clean each metal element mounted on the tooth. Do this carefully so as not to cause peeling.
- When the front surface is well cleaned, you need to remove dirt in the interdental space. To do this, take a brush, moisten it with water and using brushing movements, remove any remaining food between the teeth.
- Rinse your mouth with a special mouthwash that will destroy bacteria not cleaned with brushes.
- Take the irrigator and go through those areas where you couldn’t reach with a brush. Pay special attention to the areas under the plate.
- Use floss to clean the space between your teeth as far as your braces will allow.
We don’t want to upset you, but this sequence of actions will become a daily routine for you. Moreover, the procedure must be performed at least 2 times a day. Therefore, be patient and remember what all these sacrifices are for.
How long do you need to brush your teeth with braces and how long does this procedure take on average? If everything is done correctly and according to technology, then complete cleaning will take you about 15 minutes. It just sounds scary, but in practice everything is much faster and simpler than it seems.
You should consult your dentist about the best way to clean your braces. It all depends on the complexity of the structure and the location of the teeth. Where only an electric toothbrush and a special toothpaste can help some, others need a regular brush of medium hardness and toothpaste with a high concentration of fluoride.
Please note that if you have a complex shape of braces and have installed bands that regulate the bite, then your doctor should show you how to brush your teeth with braces. In this case, it will be difficult to open your mouth to the maximum, but you cannot do without hygiene procedures.
