Caring for your
teeth and your brace
Brace care
Dental hygiene is even more important once you have a brace fitted. Braces create more areas for food and plaque to get stuck, so thorough brushing is imperative.
We’ve compiled some simple brace care tips to help keep your teeth and brace in tip top condition.
DENTAL HYGIENE
Brushing
Brush your teeth at least twice a day for a minimum of two minutes.
Using a combination of gentle vibrating circular motions and sweeping movements make full use of all the bristles of your toothbrush, sweep the plaque away from your gums. Clean the front and back of your teeth working all the way from the front of your mouth to the back.
Flossing, Spiral brushes & Mouth wash
Flossing is important to gum health. But be careful when flossing not to edge the wires of your brace out of place.
You can use a spiral brush to help carefully dislodge food and plaque from around the brackets on your teeth as well as in-between the teeth themselves.
We also recommend using a fluoride mouthwash every evening for at least one minute after brushing.
Disclosing tablets
These are a great way to see how well you’ve brushed your teeth.
After chewing one tablet thoroughly, spreading saliva to all tooth and gum surfaces with your tongue, spit out residual saliva and rinse your mouth out with water.
Areas of plaque will be stained red. You can then brush your teeth until the red stain is removed. Just be careful not to swallow the tablet.
Brace Care - Avoid hard or sticky foods
Rule number one for brace care is to avoid foods that aren’t brace-friendly.
Sticky foods can get stuck in-between your brace and your teeth – increasing your risk of tooth decay, while hard foods may dislodge wires and damage braces.
The food avoidance list includes:
Chewy or crunchy peanut butter, Caramel or toffee chocolate bars, Any sweets and marshmallows, Crusty bread, Apples, Popcorn, Nuts
BRACE CARE - WAX
If you develop any sore spots on the inside of your cheeks/lips, you can use wax to relieve discomfort. Dry the area of the brace that is causing the soreness, apply a piece of softened wax to the brace, pressing gently so that it sticks.
Useful tip – try using wax last thing at night as your mouth will be drier when you sleep.
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Brace care – avoiding emergencies and looking after your brace