While brushing only takes a few moments a day, the impact on your health can be tremendous! I didn’t realize the connection my oral health had to my overall health until I was pregnant and read literature on it. Now, going forward, I know how important it is to ensure we are brushing (and flossing!) well to ensure overall body health.
The importance of oral health also increases when you have braces. I had braces in high school (a time I’d rather forget, yeesh!) and remember how difficult brushing was to ensure I got every surface I could. Flossing was really difficult and I know I slacked on both (broccoli in your braces, anyone?)
3M is working with Crest and Oral-B to ensure the necessary information is readily available on how to care for brace-bound teeth.
According to certified orthodontic clinical assistant, Cathy Sundvall, there are six key steps that should be followed by brace wearers to ensure a good oral hygiene routine:
1. Rinse: Start by removing loose food particles.
2. Tree brush: Use an interproximal brush as a great way to check behind your archwire for any remaining food debris.
3. Water flosser: Use a water flosser as added assurance you’ve removed food particles from around the brackets.
4. Floss: Remove any food that’s in between your teeth with floss.
5. Power brush: Brush using a specially-designed electric toothbrush head, which removes plaque in tiny, hard-to-reach spots, like the areas around your braces.
6. Final rinse: Now that you’re done cleaning your teeth, make sure your mouth is fresh and toothpaste-free with a quick rinse.
Research indicates that a clean mouth prevents various life-threatening diseases like aspiration pneumonia, gum disease and heart disease.
I know I didn’t follow these steps as a 15 year old with braces, and in the same breath I know I will probably have a 15 year old wearing braces (based on my son’s lovely grill right now, as we call it!) So, it’s important to be aware of the steps for all of us with or without braces for optimum oral health!
For a complete overview of these steps, please click here.
Oh I remember braces! =)
When I had braces as a teen it was so hard to brush! I hated eating in public because of food getting stuck.
this is definitely good to know just in case we have to go through it ourselves. I have never had braces but my brother did and i know he always complained about trying to brush them clean
Good to know. Im thinking about getting braces :s
no one in my family had braces, so it never occured to me how hard it is to keep your teeth clean with them on
This is a great post. My daughter and I still have the lower inside brace on. It isn’t easy to keep teeth clean when wearing braces and these tips are fantastic!!
So much better products out there to deal with braces than in the 90’s!
I actually never had braces but do know the importance of oral health. Great tips/
something to keep in mind…we have a couple of years to go and then we will be in this situation.
I was always at my girls to get the brushing done right with their braces. the pictures they show at the orthodontist where people dont brush properly were so gross and scary to look at.
i can’t remember doing anything extra for my teeth as a 12 year old with braces, but I must have done an ok job, because my teeth are in really great condition still
Great tips!
I just use a normal toothbrush & mouthwash lol.
Good info. I have one that is about to get into braces so I’ll bookmark this post!!
When I went to school only a small handful of people had braces, myself excluded. Now it seems that every second person has braces. Even though I didn’t and my daughter didn’t need braces either, these facts are good to know.
I ended up with my first and only cavity when my braces were on, so I can second the importance of good oral hygiene with braces.
I was lucky and didn’t have to wear them. My poor daughter …that’s another story. She had to go through 2 rounds of it because her teeth started moving again once they were removed the first time.
I was lucky enough to never need braces but this is good to know in case we do!
I had a gf in high school who wore braces and remember the fun she had cleaning them
I never had braces but good things to remember if my little boys ever need them!
great post. Will keep this in mind!
Ooh great post 🙂 I wish this info was around when I had mine on!
I’m so glad I never had to have braces!! When my oldest son had braces he definitely didn’t follow these guidelines- lol.
I remember these days, lol
I remember how much fun it was when I had braces. Great tips, wish I had these back then!
Great tips, I have never had braces but my daughter has and I had a hard time getting her to really take the extra time needed to care for her mouth. This campaign is great