Oral hygiene and proper care is not just about making your teeth look neat and pretty. More importantly, taking care of your oral cavity is the key to shun dental problems such as tartars, gingivitis and demineralization. Because of the fact that proper oral care is much more delicate and difficult with braces, brace wearers have more tendency to experience these issues than those who are not wearing one. Needless to say, these dental problems are already horrible on their own, and these could turn into more grievous oral health issues if left unresolved. So if you have braces, here are some essential things that your dentists in Phoenix would surely advise you to keep in mind:
Food
In general, it is a prudent idea to eat a proper and nutritious diet. For brace wearers, however, it is actually hard to always keep attention to this because some food can damage your braces or increase your risk of having tooth decay, and certain food can be difficult to manage with braces.
As a rule of thumb, keep sticky food out of your eating regime. These include cordials, lollipops, chips and other starchy and sugary items. These facilitate bacterial production which subsequently increases cavity risks and might cause gum diseases. Moreover, sticky food also cling to the wires that connect dental brackets which can cause the braces to loosen up.
Phoenix dentists and orthodontists also recommend not eating hard or crunchy food. This can be a problem because some healthy stuff such as carrots and apples cannot be eaten because these can threaten the stability of the braces. To solve this, try cutting them into smaller pieces, or turn these into other health food options like nutritious drinks or soft vegetables. In this manner, the end result of having braces will not be less effective.
Flossing
A lot of brace wearers do not realize how vital flossing is to their situation. Little do they know that the food particles usually adhere to the bands, wires and brackets, so flossing must be a top priority for them. Dentists recommend using quality waxed floss because unwaxed floss tends to get stuck and be shredded in between brackets. If you are already flossing before your braces were fitted, use a thread that is three times longer than the usual in order to make sure that all the food particles have been removed in major areas.
Conclusion
Taking good care of your braces is important to avoid hitches and problems while they are on, so that you will end up with a correctly realigned teeth once they are off. Irrespective of how much money, time and effort you have invested for your braces, the members of Phoenix orthodontics community will surely agree that proper oral care is still the best means to having a healthy and beautiful smile.