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How to Properly Maintain your Braces

Braces work effectively to move your teeth to their correct position by applying pressure to your teeth over a certain period of time. Braces can be used for straightening teeth, correcting bites, and for cosmetic purposes. If you have misaligned teeth, you may be at risk for speech impediments, jaw/TMJ pain, difficulty chewing and eating, sleep apnea, grinding and clenching of teeth, gum disease and tooth decay. Braces can serve a fundamental purpose in straightening your teeth so you don’t have to worry about any oral risk factors that may be associated with misaligned teeth.

Braces are usually required to be worn for two years and during that time, it is critical that you take proper care to maintain your braces and keep them clean. This blog post will give you some tips on how to do that.

Unfortunately, maintaining your braces takes a lot of time and effort—but if you do it right, your healthy and dazzling smile will be your reward. Here are some tips on how you can maintain a healthy smile while wearing braces:

  1. Good oral hygiene habits—In order to keep your teeth healthy when you have braces, it is important to keep a good oral care routine for your teeth. When you have braces, it means there are more nooks and wires that food can get trapped in which can lead to plaque build-up. To avoid this, make sure you follow a well established oral care routine every day which involves brushing, flossing and using mouthwash regularly.
  2. Follow your orthodontist’s instructions—Your orthodontist may give you additional instructions such as placing rubber bands on your braces at specific points in time. These instructions are specific to your needs and will help you achieve the results you would like to see from your braces.
  3. Having a tooth-friendly diet—A tooth-friendly diet involves eating food with low acidity such as bananas, milk, seafood and eggs, so that it doesn’t damage your tooth enamel over time. Another way to maintain your smile when you have braces is to avoid foods with a high level of sugar to reduce your chances of having tooth decay.

If you have any questions about how you can best maintain your braces and your dazzling smile, visit a 123Dentist.com location today!