Oral Hygiene

Food to Avoid:

Your teeth may be a little sore for the first week you are in braces. We recommend sticking to a soft food diet until this discomfort subsides. While you are in braces, you can still eat just about anything, with some minor exceptions. You should avoid hard foods, such as ice and pizza crust, as well as sticky foods, such as licorice and caramels. These foods can damage wires and brackets. You should also minimize foods high in sugar content, like ice cream and cookies, and reduce sugary drinks to once a day.

Interdental Toothbrush:

Along with your every day brushing and flossing regimen. You may also find an interdental toothbrush (proxabrush) to be a useful tool to help keep your teeth, braces and gums clean and healthy. It can be used to clean under orthodontic wires and around braces. Use this device slowly and carefully, so you do not damage your braces.

Topical Fluoride:

Phos-Flur is a sodium fluoride rinse that helps prevent tooth decay while you are wearing braces by killing bacteria and replacing minerals in tooth enamel that have been exposed to harmful acids. The use of Phos-Flur does not replace daily brushing and flossing but should be done following your daily schedule at bedtime. Use the bottle’s cap to measure the amount needed and rinse and spit before bedtime(DO NOT SWALLOW). You may not eat or drink for 30 minutes after you use Phos-Flur. It is important for the active ingredient to stay on your teeth for 30 minutes, so do not wash it away by eating or drinking.

Rinsing:

When you are finished brushing and flossing, rinse your mouth carefully with water or an antiseptic dental rinse. This antiseptic dental rinse can help minor gum inflammations and irritations from orthodontic appliances. It is also used to cleanse canker sores, minor wounds and other mouth and gum irritations, while removing debris, and enabling natural healing to occur.

Retainer:

It is important to brush your retainer every time you brush your teeth as they can accumulate food particles and plaque. You should also soak your appliance once a day in a glass of room-temperature tap water with a denture-cleaning tablet, such as Polident or Efferdent. This will help prevent plaque build-up and oral infections and will keep your appliance tasting better too! Be sure not to use hot water as this can distort the appliance.