Products To Keep Your Dental Braces Clean

If you have just started an orthodontic treatment and are still getting used to the discomfort, to the new set of foods and the banning of the old favourites, and may even be fighting to rectify a new speech impediment, you probably do not feel like reading about how to keep your new appliance clean. But keeping the dental braces and the teeth clean is extremely important during an orthodontic treatment, as this is how you can make it through the process without any tooth decay. Your teeth are at heightened risk during the treatment, and you will need to clean them as well as your orthodontic device. Here are some useful products that can help you do that.

Interdental toothbrush

Since flossing is now highly inconvenient (if not physically impossible), but food still gets stuck in the gaps between your teeth, you need a new way of cleaning your teeth and dental braces. Good news! Interdental toothbrushes, the ones that look like bottle brushes used in bars, are here and ready to tackle the job. Insert them where you would put the floss, and feel the bristles clean your tooth gaps, the gaps between your teeth and device, and remove the nasty food particles stuck in these hard to reach places.

Non-alcoholic mouthwash

Since there are now more nooks and crannies in your mouth and some of them are very hard to reach, using more mouthwash seems inevitable. Mouthwash is great because it does not exert force onto your device while you clean, and can get everywhere because it is a liquid. Just make sure you are using a non-alcoholic mouthwash, as alcoholic ones can dry out your mucus membranes, something that you are already at a risk of if you have dental braces.

Orthodontic toothbrushes

Special orthodontic toothbrushes that are designed for people with dental braces do exist. They have a little indentation in the middle, and are longer on the sides, allowing the bristles to go around the brackets and clean any detritus off of and from under the device itself. Some people report that they feel no difference between this and a regular brush, while others love them.

Fluoride ointment or gel

Once the dental braces come off, you may see some areas of your teeth that were in contact with the bracket that may have white splotches on them. This is because the metal can demineralize teeth, leaching calcium and other vital minerals from the teeth, leaving them brittle. These brittles spots can quickly turn into cavities, so it is best to apply a generous amount of fluoride gel or ointment to the area topically. Pretty soon the area will remineralize and the white splotch will turn back into regular, healthy tooth material.