5 Ways To Keep Braces Clean
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Cleaning Orthodontic Braces
Orthodontic brace treatment can straighten your smile and has the potential to transform your life. A bright, straight smile gives you the confidence to smile again, helping improve your self-esteem with friends and socially. If you are a teenager or an adult in London and are thinking of orthodontic braces to straighten your teeth, you can book a complementary orthodontic brace consultation with one of our dentists at Whites Dental. We will be able to provide you advice on various brace options available to suit your needs and get you started on your journey to a straighter smile.
Once you have your new orthodontic braces fitted, you may think that it is now time to relax and wait for the new braces to do their magic to straighten your teeth and give you a lovely new smile. However, that’s not the case. Once the orthodontist fits your new braces, a lot rests on you on how well the brace treatment performs and how effective it is in moving your teeth. The first thing you need to ensure is that you accurately follow the guidelines the dentist provides you – such as ensuring you avoid certain foods and drinks, maintain your brace hardware, keep good oral hygiene and ensure your braces are kept clean.
It is completely down to you to make sure your braces stay clean as they go about straightening your teeth. The very last thing you want is to have plaque build-up, which can potentially lead to tooth decay and also pain. We provide below 5 handy tips on maintaining your orthodontic braces and keeping them clean.
5 Tips To Keep Braces Clean
Brush in-between your teeth and the braces –
Although orthodontic braces help to improve your smile and also overall oral health, they can often also make cleaning your teeth more difficult. The level of cleaning difficulty can vary from brace type to brace type – for example, fixed metal braces are more difficult to clean than removable clear braces.
Fixed braces can make it more difficult for you to clean your teeth because the braces create nooks and corners where food particles can get stuck; enabling bacteria to grow and thrive if the area is not well cleaned with brushing. You need to pay extra attention to clean these nooks and corners as part of the daily brushing routine.
Our dentists recommend you to brush teeth twice in a day for at least two minutes each time. If you want to be extra thorough at cleaning your teeth, we even suggest you could get an interdental brush to clean teeth. The interdental brush comes with a much smaller head and helps to clean small spaces, especially the areas between your teeth and braces. If you decide to use one, you should clean your teeth for an additional two minutes using the interdental brush.
Floss at least once a day – In addition to brushing your teeth with a regular brush and an interdental brush, you should also floss regularly. You should thread the floss through the ortho wires of the braces so as not to edge them out of their place. You can then gently pick away bits of food debris lodged in those hard to reach areas.
Consider using mouthwash – We suggest investing in mouthwash that contains fluoride. The mouthwash will help you to keep your braces clean, in turn helping protect your teeth, gums and mouth. We recommend waiting at least 30 mins after brushing to use the mouthwash. Else, there is a chance you may wash away the fluoride present in the toothpaste.
Avoid sticky or hard foods – Some types of foods, especially the sticky types, are just not friendly to your braces. They include popcorn, apples, nuts, crusty bread, chewing gums, marshmallows, sweets, chocolates containing toffee or caramel, chewy / crunchy peanut butter. Sticky food items can sometimes get lodged in between your braces and teeth and can be difficult to remove. If they remain stuck, bacteria could grow and develop on your teeth and gums, eventually leading to tooth decay and pain. In addition, hard food items can dislodge your orthodontic wires and also damage your brackets, potentially causing them to come off. This has the potential to impact your treatment as you may need to revisit the orthodontist to have your braces hardware repaired.
Make a mobile teeth cleaning pack – In addition to cleaning your teeth at least twice a day, you could also carry a mobile cleaning pack when you are out and about outside your house. It will come handy if you are out having a meal with friends or are working long hours at the office. You can use the pack to quickly clean your teeth and braces while you are away from home. The mobile pack can include items such as a toothbrush, an interdental brush, a small sized bottle of mouthwash and floss.
Have regular dental check-ups – Dental check-ups are good practice to maintaining your oral health, where a dentist quickly checks the health of your teeth and gums. It becomes even more important while you are wearing braces to ensure your teeth remain healthy as they are being straightened.
Routinely Clean Your Invisalign Braces
The right way to clean clear Aligners
Some people forget that Invisalign Braces don’t just clean themselves. Your braces will need to be keep clean regularly not for the sake of taking good care of your invisalign, but also for your own oral and gum health.
There are some common myths and rumours when it comes to cleaning your Invisalign. Let’s go through the do’s and don’ts.
What You Should Do
Rinse your aligners when removed
Get in the habit of rinsing your aligns when you remove them. This will ensure that any mucus is removed, avoiding the build up of bacteria.
Clean your Invisalign
Rinsing sometimes isn’t enough. Clean your Invisalign braces regularly using a soft bristled tooth brush with clear anti-bacterial soap. This will remove any plaque or excess saliva from your braces. The toothbrush will ensure that you clean those tough to reach places within your braces.
Why You Should Care for Your Invisalign
Although you will get a new set of Invisalign braces every couple of weeks or so, it’s important that you take care of each and every brace that you obtain. Misusing your braces can cause irreparable damage to your teeth.
For many, Invisalign can be a costly process when straightening your teeth. That’s why it’s important that you follow the correct process to ensure a smooth straightening experience.
Clean your case
Ensure that you use clear anti-bacterial soap to keep your tray clean and this is when your braces will be kept when you’re eating. It is super important that you get into the habit of cleaning your Invisalign case as this can become a hot bed of bacteria.
Clean your teeth before putting your braces back in
It’s incredibly important that you either brush or floss your teeth before you reinsert your Invisalign braces. This will dispel of any food particles that could still be in your teeth. Trapping these foods in your mouth could eventually lead to tooth decay, cavities or other dental issues.
Flossing will greatly improve your dental hygiene in these circumstances also.
Soak your aligners daily
If you want to go that extra mile, you can soak your aligners daily in a small cup or lukewarm water mixed with some Invisalign cleaning crystals. You can leave them in the cup for around 10-20 minutes a day, brushing off any excess with a toothbrush.
Soaking your aligners will help eliminate any odors that may accumulate.
What You SHOULD NOT Do
Do no use toothpaste to clean your braces
Many people assume that you should clean your Invisalign with toothpaste, but this is a common misconception. Toothpaste can cause discolouration to your braces and sometimes it can create a dull looking surface on your braces, making them more visible.
Don’t use coloured soaps
Coloured soaps can stain your braces, ruining the appearance of your Invisalign altogether. It’s best to avoid any coloured soaps when cleaning your braces.
Not only can these coloured soaps ruin your braces, they can leave unpleasant tastes when you put your braces back in.
If you have additional questions about cleaning your braces or about orthodontic braces in general, please feel free to email us and we will get in touch as quickly as we can. If you are considering having braces to straighten your teeth, why not check out our guide to London braces costs, book a complementary orthodontic consultation with our dentists. You can also call us on 02086160590 or email us at [email protected] in order to book a consultation. You can read more about orthodontic braces on our orthodontics in London.
At Whites Dental, our dentists provide a range of orthodontic braces including traditional fixed metal braces, Six Month Smiles, Lingual braces, Fastbraces, Damon braces,, fixed ceramic braces and Invisalign clear braces. We are located in London Waterloo, a short 1 minute walk from Southwark tube. We are also a quick 4-10 minutes’ walk from Borough, Elephant and Castle and London Bridge.
