Cleaning Braces

February 25th, 2009 by Mark Mutschler

Braces are wonderful. Braces provide beautiful smiles. Most patients are eager to get their braces on.

After a month of showing them off to their friends, however, they realize how hard they are to keep clean.

The braces stick out from the teeth and the wire that passes between the brace on each tooth traps food and plaque. How can anyone possibly clean them well?

Cleaning braces well is a skill that most orthodontic patients can learn with practice. First, make sure you have a flossing aid.

Flossing between teeth with braces requires either using a floss threader to help in slipping floss under the wire for each tooth or using a special tool that we provide called a Platypus that slips behind the wire.

Next, use a toothbrush to poke the bristles under the wire and massage the gums. The gap between the brace and the gums is the hardest area to keep clean so scrubbing this area particularly well is important.