The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice and flossing once every single day. This is particularly essential when you have braces. That’s because cavities and other oral health complications can increase the amount of time it takes to fully realign your teeth.
At the same time, we also know that braces can create hard-to-clean places in your mouth that weren’t there before. Sometimes your regular toothbrush and dental floss are not sufficient tools to remove plaque and food particles from these crevices. That’s why there are special orthodontic tools that can help.
An interdental brush has a small, angled brush head. These can be especially helpful for removing small food particles from bands and spacers.
If you’re having trouble working a strand of dental floss around the wires of your braces, you might want to try using a floss threader with waxed dental floss. This loop-shaped tool can help insert the strand of floss around orthodontic hardware in between your teeth, making it easier to floss all the way down to the gum line.
You may also want to try using a water flosser like Waterpik®. This will help loosen and wash away food deposits. Just remember that this is not a viable alternative to physically flossing your teeth.
If you had braces installed at Uinta Orthodontics in Evanston, Wyoming, and you have oral hygiene concerns, you can always call (307) 789-8742 to seek further advice or to set up an appointment with Dr. John R. Schouten.
