If you have braces, it is important to adjust your eating and oral hygiene habits in order to continue caring for your teeth. Though it may take some extra time to clean in and around the hardware of your braces , proper care is essential for achieving a good outcome when your braces are removed. If you are considering orthodontics in Schaumburg, here are some great tips for caring for your teeth after you are fitted with braces:
Maintain Good Oral Hygiene
Food particles can easily become trapped between the brackets of your braces. This means that you must take extra care to brush and floss your teeth regularly. If you don’t practice proper oral hygiene with braces, a build up of plaque and food particles can begin to cause dental problems such as cavities and gum disease. For patients with braces, orthodontists recommend brushing after each meal. Your orthodontist may also recommend other tools to help clean your teeth, including a proxabrush, which is a special toothbrush designed to fit between your braces. Waterflossers and fluoride mouthwash are also highly recommended.
Avoid Certain Foods
There are certain foods that can become quite problematic and can even damage the hardware of your braces. Therefore, it may be best to simply avoid these foods altogether. Foods such as apples, taffy, licorice, corn on the cob, nuts, and popcorn are examples of foods that can easily damage brackets. Orthodontists recommend avoiding bubblegum and also discourage potentially harmful habits such as chewing on ice cubes.
Protect Your Mouth While Playing Sports
If you play sports, you will need to use caution with your braces. If you run the risk of being hit in the mouth with a ball or other object during practice or a game, your orthodontist can fit you with a mouth guard. The mouth guard is designed to fit over your braces in order to prevent injury to your mouth or damage to the brackets and wires. Depending on the sport you are playing, a full-facial guard might also be appropriate. Strips of dental wax are also good options for protecting your braces and the soft tissue of your mouth during sports play.
Reference: http://www.webmd.com