Our Golden West Dental Clinic team in Rialto, California, is excited to work with you on aligning your smile. Our orthodontist, Dr. Rosendo Garza also enjoys helping patients maintain their smile health along the way because healthy teeth and gums are important in or out of braces. In today’s blog, we are reviewing some oral health essential to help you keep your smile in good shape as you straighten your teeth.

As you know, oral bacteria and dental plaque (that sticky biofilm that coats your teeth) never take a day off, so you can’t really relax your oral hygiene habits without paying a price. While wearing braces, your goal is to remove plaque and food particles from your teeth and orthodontia to prevent cavities and gingivitis or gum disease.

1– Brush your teeth after eating to avoid bits of tooth particles and plaque buildup. Clean with a soft-bristled toothbrush to safely loosen residue around the wires and brackets. You can, if you prefer, brush with a V-shaped orthodontic toothbrush which is specifically designed to clean around your braces.

2– It is easy to clean between your brackets with the help of an interdental toothbrush. These are designed to get the areas of your teeth and wires where your toothbrush can’t.

3– Because a toothbrush doesn’t remove plaque between the teeth, gumline, or underneath braces wires, you will need to floss. Flossing tools adept at working with braces include pre-threaded flossers, orthodontic floss, and even a water flosser. Please don’t skip this oral hygiene essential!

4– In addition to seeing your dentist for cleanings and exams, you will need to see your orthodontist for regular follow-up visits. Not only will this ensure that your teeth straightening schedule stays on track, but it helps to spot problems while keeping your smile healthy and beautiful along the way.

If you have any questions or concerns for our orthodontic team, please give us a call at 909-421-8787 and we will help you find the answers you need.