Home Care

Brushing

Oral Hygiene Overview

For a brief overview of oral hygiene tips, please click on the image below. It will launch our flash educational module in a separate window that may answer some of your questions about oral hygiene.


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You will notice that it is much harder to keep your teeth clean with braces. Food compacts in the brackets and between your teeth, and can only be removed by brushing and flossing. If plaque remains on the teeth for any length of time, it will leave a permanent white scar on the surface. Brushing after meals should become part of your daily schedule. Use a soft toothbrush with firm pressure and brush at a 45-degree angle to the tooth and gum; brush in small circles above and below the brackets. Click here for visual instructions. Your toothbrush will wear out faster because of your appliances, so be sure to replace it whenever the bristles start to fray. A Waterpik can be a useful addition but it cannot remove the sticky plaque that adheres to the teeth. Sonicare toothbrushes are very helpful. Flossing is important and should be done every day.

Eating Habits

Please do not eat hard foods: nuts, ice, crisp taco shells, whole apples and carrots (cut them into pieces first), hard French bread crust and rolls, spareribs, corn on the cob (cut the corn off the cob before eating), and popcorn! These foods risk breaking brackets and wires. Also beware of nail biting and pen or pencil chewing habits, since these can damage your braces. Do not eat sticky foods: taffy, caramels, bubble gum, or sticky candy of any sort. Use common sense about most foods.

Absolutely No:

Gum:
Sugarless or otherwise

Sticky Foods:
Caramels
Sugar Daddies
Starbursts
Caramel Apples
Sugar Babies
Licorice
Toffee
Tootsie Rolls
Now & Laters

Eat with Caution or Cut up:

Hard Foods
Nuts
Popcorn
Bagels
Apples
Corn on the Cob
Pizza Crusts
Carrots (uncooked)
Doritos
Pretzels

Eat much less:

Candy
Ice Cream
Cake, Cookies
Pie
Foods with Sugar


Drink much less:

Pop/Soda
Drinks with Sugar