How to Live With Your Braces?
Most of the school going kids and adults wear braces as a solution to their dental problems. Braces help in straightening the crooked teeth, overbites and underbites, huge gaps between the teeth etc. However, one needs to take extra care of the teeth to see the fruitful and effective results. Some of the important measures to take care while wearing braces are:
- Prioritise Dental hygiene and care
If you’re dental care and hygiene was poor before you got the braces. Then it is important to seriously prioritise dental care and hygiene after wearing them. Brushing your teeth regularly and flossing is extremely crucial to ensure healthy gums and sparkling teeth. You need to be extremely gentle while brushing your teeth or flossing – to avoid damages to the brackets and wires of your braces.
Follow a brushing routine – use of fluoride toothpaste and a soft head toothbrush is ideal for brushing teeth with braces. Brushing after every meal ensures there is no food residue to build up plaque. Flossing also helps in removing the food remains between your teeth or in the wires or brackets of braces. Keep in mind, not to exert more force while flossing or brushing – this can result in damaging your braces.
- Watch out the foods you eat
You need to be extra careful with the foods you eat while wearing braces. It is best to avoid sugary foods or starchy foods – these foods stick to the teeth and can build up plaque around the brackets. This can also result in cavities or gum diseases and can cause discolouration of the teeth.
Sticky foods or chewy foods like caramel, toffee, raisins, corn, chewing gum etc can stick to the braces and can be hard to remove. Hard foods like ice, popcorn, meat etc can be too hard on the brackets and can end up in breaking the wires of the braces. Hence, it is good to avoid hard or sticky foods. Some of the healthy foods like raw apples or carrots or any other hard vegetable can be boiled and taken in the softly textured form- to avoid destructing the braces.
- Protect your braces when you practice your hobbies
All the sports lovers and music or dance lovers need to be extra careful while practising their hobbies. If you loving playing sports or working out in gym or dancing – then it is best advised to use a mouth guard to protect your lips and cheeks from injuries or cuts. This can also avoid damages to your braces. Mouth guard is greatly helpful if you are using fixed braces.
If you happen to practice musical instruments – it can be difficult to play wind instruments while wearing the braces. However, if you are using removable braces, just remove the braces when performing any of the above activities. You can store it in the braces case to ensure protection and put it back once you finish playing the instrument or after performing the above activities.
- Products to assist you in taking care of braces
Apart from the normal fluoride toothbrush, you can use ‘power’ toothbrush or electric toothbrush which is suitable for cleaning your teeth with braces. You can even ask your orthodontist to help you choose the right one.
If you wear fixed braces, you can opt for ‘Interdental’ toothbrush – which can reach in between the teeth. It is also the best way to clean around the brackets of fixed braces. For flossing under the wires, floss threaders can be used to get rid of any food residue.
To identify dental plaque – disclosing tablets which contain harmless dye can be used to stain the plague part. This can help you to brush your teeth accordingly.
Fluoride mouth rinses can also be the best way to avoid the cavities and plaque build up. Choose the right one as per your orthodontist’s suggestion.
All of the above products are easily available at pharmacies and supermarkets. You can even check online to pick one easily at the ease of your fingertips.
- Troubleshooting braces
No matter how careful you are – some damages are bound to happen. Even amidst the best care of your braces, snap or break can still occur. If you happen to experience damages like wires or bracket breakage or loosening, it is best to seek the help of a dental expert immediately. The broken wire can be dangerous and there are fine chances of you inhaling it while breathing.
An orthodontist can easily fix it by using orthodontic wax. It can re-attach any loosened wires or brackets, to instantly cover up the damage.
If you happen to stay close to Beacon Hill, it is best to visit a Calgary orthodontist for any of your dental problems. They can assure you with the best guidance and dental treatment.
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