You see them more and more often in teenagers and young adults: braces. Whether fixed to the teeth or removable, dental care with braces is not always easy – at least at first glance.
Anyone who wears fixed braces knows how quickly food debris can get caught in the archwires, brackets, bonding material, or bands. Plaque also forms much faster on the teeth. In today's blog post, we'll tell you how you can still thoroughly clean your teeth as a brace wearer.
Braces as a challenge in oral hygiene
Anyone who wears fixed braces knows the challenges that daily oral hygiene brings. There are a few tips and tricks to consider to ensure efficient oral hygiene. Basically, the procedures are similar to normal tooth brushing – but the time required is higher.
Since food residues can easily accumulate and settle under the wires and on the brackets, these must be removed particularly thoroughly. The amount of care required is significantly higher than for people without braces. Instead of the recommended three minutes of brushing time, you should plan about five minutes here.
Efficient oral hygiene for people with fixed braces
To perform oral hygiene efficiently with fixed braces, it is important to get into a good routine. The first step should be to rinse your mouth thoroughly with clear water. This will already loosen coarse food particles from wires and brackets.
Then clean your teeth and braces with a toothbrush. Place the brush directly on the brackets and make gentle, vibrating movements to clean the outer tooth surfaces, brackets, and wires. This is followed by the areas between the brackets and wires.
The area between the gums, bracket, and incisal edge should also be thoroughly cleaned. Place the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and work again with gentle, vibrating movements. Finally, make sweeping motions away from the gums or towards the incisal edge.
It's best to clean the chewing surfaces last with light sweeping motions. The inside of the teeth are most effectively cleaned with gentle, circular movements.
