Your Okotoks Invisalign® Provider
Use the 45-Degree Rule to Brush
When brushing your braces, remember to follow the 45-degree rule. By changing the angle you are brushing at you can get inside the brackets to help clear out any debris. Food will become caught on the sides of your braces and in between your cheek and teeth the majority of the time. By cleaning your teeth after each meal with floss, toothpicks or rinsing, you can help make brushing easier.
Your Brackets are an Extension of Your Teeth
Do not let plaque accumulate in the areas next to the brackets, If this occurs then you may develop discolouration where the brackets are.
Your brackets and cables will create additional crevices for bacteria to settle in and proliferate as a result of your installation. Prevent this by including a daily brushing practice after each meal in your eating schedule.
Flossing is still possible when wearing braces. However, you must use dental floss with firm points or flossing lassos to reach under the wire. You may also require a toothbrush with stiffer bristles in order to avoid the bristles becoming trapped in or damaged by your brackets.
Choose Healthy Food Options
By choosing better, healthier foods you can help decrease your risk of developing plaque. When you wear braces, you don't have to substantially alter your diet, but we recommend avoiding items that make it more difficult to keep your teeth clean. Corn kernels, licorice, gummy candy, jerky, and taffy, to name a few things, will become trapped in your braces more easily than other meals.
When you stay away from this small list of sticky and difficult-to-eat foodstuffs, your regular brushing routine will simply be easier. To find out which meals you should avoid, talk to your orthodontist about what you should and shouldn't eat.
Take Your Time to Brush
It is usually recommended that you thoroughly clean your teeth for a minimum of two minutes every day. You can try using a proxabrush if you're having problems reaching all of the surfaces of your teeth because of the wires and braces in your mouth. Because of its small size and flexibility, it may be used to clean under and around braces and other orthodontic appliances.
Rinse Your Mouth Before Brushing
To begin, remove any elastics, bands, or removable orthodontic parts from your mouth and store them in a secure location away from your mouth. After that, take a cup and fill it halfway with water before rinsing your mouth out with the water. Food particles and other things can be freed by swishing a small amount of water around the inside of your mouth.