Brushing your teeth and flossing daily are important to keep your teeth healthy during orthodontic care, so we asked a few of our patients how they keep their braces clean.

Abby S.

I brush morning and night with Crest Pro-Health and a electric toothbrush. I use toothpicks when something is caught in my braces. It isn't hard keeping my braces clean, especially not as hard as everyone said it was going to be.

Keri M.

Having braces is more complex than it sounds but you need to keep them clean. Even though I've had braces a while it's not as bad as it sounds. I've kept them clean and they will straighten my smile.

Courtney N.

Brushing with braces is pretty easy. I just always take special time to focus on the brackets. Also another thing is that my dentist told me to do is brush my gums along with my teeth. Flossing sometimes proves tricky but you get the hang of it.

Kayla W.

I brush and floss my teeth 3 times a day. It is very important to keep my teeth clean because I don't want to have spots on my teeth when I get them off and the assistants are very good at telling me everytime to wear my rubber bands and to keep my teeth clean because I want to have a picture perfect smile! "It's real easy!"

-The Wilson Orthodontics Team

Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces. Food bits have more spots than usual to hide in your mouth, so you must be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during treatment, you'll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

One tooth at a time. When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.
It’s all about the angles. Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.
The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.
Step 1: eat, step 2: clean. While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact with bacteria in your mouth to cause decay. The longer food is in contact with your teeth, the greater opportunity for plaque to form. If you are eating somewhere that you can’t brush, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.
Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. The easiest way to be sure you can brush after every meal is to get in the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Designate a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your purse, backpack, or laptop case.
Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.
Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.
Pointy brushes reach tiny places. Interproximal brushes (sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes) are cone-shaped and come in very handy for reaching spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t.
Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.
Make time for the pros. It’s your job to take care of the everyday cleaning. But make sure to visit your dentist regularly while in treatment, to get the deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide.

Hope this helps!

-Dr. Wilson

Dr. Wilson's office encourages our patients to develop a daily oral care routine by rewarding our patients with tooth tokens. When our patients have good oral hygiene they receive one token. When they have reached ten tokens We have a large wheel on the wall, the patients get to spin the wheel, and can win prizes ranging from gift cards to Target, Starbucks, Blockbuster, or even a chance to win a Nintendo Wii!

Every time a patient goes to their general dentist for a cleaning, We reward them with five tokens. We also explain it is very important that they have at least three cleanings a year while they have their braces on.

To encourage good oral hygiene, Wilson Orthodontics offers a few tips. We tell patients that they must brush under, above, and behind all surfaces of every tooth and bracket while remembering to brush the inside and the outside of both top & bottom gums. Patients are also advised to rinse their mouths very thoroughly after they have finished brushing. They should be sure to check after rinsing, and if their teeth & brackets are not clean & shining....Brush again! We explain that poor brushing can cause permanent damage to teeth, and that proper brushing is vital to oral health.

We've got so many questions about our teeth, we asked Kandi, at Dr. Wilson's office, to take some time and explain it all. Here's what she had to say:

The main cause of tooth decay is the sugar that is in the foods and drinks you eat. Water is the best beverage you can drink that is healthiest for your teeth. Anything that has sugar in it, you would want to eat at meal times, that way you can brush your teeth after. If you need a good healthy snack you can have things like whole bread, cheese, crackers, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Avoid mints and hard candies. They tend to be sticky and could get lodged in the grooves of your teeth which can cause cavities. They also could chip your teeth if your not careful biting into them. Any foods with acid such as citric juices or sodas can change the balance of the saliva in the mouth. The acid can attack the enamel structure of the tooth and sugar feeds the cavity-causing bacteria.

Spicy foods and chewing gum can increase the amount of saliva in the mouth.
The increased saliva carries protein that helps break down the sugars that can cause cavities so these can actually be good for your teeth.

After each meal you should brush your teeth and gums with a soft bristle toothbrush. A medium would be OK, but with a soft bristle toothbrush you are less likely to harm your teeth and you can clean them better.

So eat the right foods and always brush and floss to keep your teeth healthy!

Kandi Pope, Treatment Coordinator
Wilson Orthodontics

Good Dental Hygiene
It is important that you take good care of your teeth; after all, you only get one set of permanent teeth in your lifetime. If one falls out, unlike a baby tooth, there’s not another to replace it. (Scary thought, huh?)

So What Do We Know?
It’s best to take 2-3 minutes to brush; any soft bristle toothbrush is fine. The purpose for a power brush is that it’s timed and you know you’re getting at least 2 minutes of brushing. A wise man once said, you only have to floss the teeth you want to keep. (Makes sense!)

* You should change your toothbrush every 3 months or if the bristles look worn (especially w/ braces).

* Mouthwash helps to kill germs & prevent cavities; it also keeps your breath fresh.

* Chewing gum and eating mints does not take the place of brushing and may cause cavities if used in excess, sugar free is better but limit your use.

* If you can not brush after every meal, be sure to at least rinse with water and brush when you can.

To sum it up, remember:
Brushing three times a day + flossing once a day + visiting your dentist every six months = a beautiful and healthy smile!

Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment or contact our office!

-Sharon Kubler, Chairside Assistant