Useful Tips That Everyone With Braces Must Know

Having braces is something that is often considered a rite of passage for young people. Around a certain adolescent/preteen age, it’s expected to get braces to make sure that your pearly whites aren’t just clean, but nice and straight too. It’s an odd thing that our society is so invested in making sure our teeth are perfect, but it’s also a good thing to make sure that our smiles look great. Before getting braces, you should get rid of any tooth decay issues. If you require a recommendation, check out this dentist in south barrington to get your fillings done.

Getting braces, even for adults too, also requires plenty of care. Once the orthodontist clamps those bad boys onto your teeth, you have another thing to consider. Keeping your braces clean and in good condition isn’t hard, but it is very important. Here are some useful tips for anyone with braces to keep in mind.

Learning How to Floss With Braces

Dentists and any oral hygiene specialist is going to tell you this for the rest of your life – you need to floss. Not only that, but you need to floss better. The orthodontists at GorgeousSmiles.com.au show how important it is to keep them clean, but flossing is another thing to remember to do. Flossing properly with braces can be a little more difficult, but listen to them and remember to make smaller strands of floss to get in those tighter cracks to get any food debris out easier.

Eating the Right Foods

It might seem ridiculous, but eating the right foods is key to maintaining your braces. If you’re eating a lot of hard or crunchy foods, it can end up taking a toll on your braces because they can get stuck or loosen the brackets and wires. Apples are notoriously bad, so you should avoid a lot of hard or dense foods until after a couple of weeks to let your braces settle. Even beyond that, you should still be conscious of the foods you’re eating to make sure that they aren’t too rough on the braces.

Brushing Properly

Just like flossing, you might be brushing improperly too. You might think it’s ridiculous to think that you can brush improperly, but it’s more about doing it the more correct way. Brushing means getting all sides of your teeth, front, top, and back, and this applies double when you have braces. There are so many nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in and for gunk to build up, so you have to be very thorough. It’s also important to make sure that you’re brushing for long enough and getting your gums as well.

How to Handle Brace-Related Discomfort

Braces can hurt, that’s not a shock. So there are a lot of ways that yours can end up causing pain or discomfort, and it’s very helpful to know how to relieve that discomfort. The easiest way to do so is by gargling salt water to help soften the pain. It’s very simple and it makes it really easy to handle any annoyance you may feel with your braces. It’s also good to ask your orthodontist to check to see if they’re too tight as well, but it could go away after you get used to them.

Be Vigilant of Any Loose Wires

Loose wires are the most annoying part of braces. It’s bound to happen, but if it doesn’t, count yourself lucky. A loose wire isn’t serious, but it can be a major annoyance. It’s not a discomfort that can be fixed by gargling salt water, but you’ll feel it cutting into your gums. If this is a recurring problem, go see your orthodontist to get it sorted before it becomes overly painful.

Wear a Mouthguard if You Play Sports

For those active folk out there, this is going to be a very useful tip that will save you plenty of pain and possibly plenty of money. Braces can get damaged, that much you know now, but if you get hit in the face with a rogue elbow in a game of basketball or kicked with a soccer ball, you might damage your braces to the point of needing them replaced. The easiest solution is to get a mouthguard to help protect your teeth. It’s cheap and very practical if you want to keep your braces or teeth intact.

Braces, for better or worse, are a part of growing up. They help you make sure your teeth are nice and neat and give your parents plenty of joy when their money pays off in your school pictures. Even if you’re an adult looking to get braces, those useful tips will be incredibly handy when you see the orthodontist.