Straightening your teeth with either metal or ceramic braces is a huge step to creating your dream smile. However having orthodontic brackets can create many little gaps for food, sugar and bacterial plaque to get stuck in. Not taking care of your oral hygiene whilst wearing braces will lead to a build-up of plaque around your brackets. This will cause permanent white spots, tooth decay, swollen gums and bad breath.

Cleaning your teeth with braces takes more time and patience. This detailed guide shows you how to simply clean your teeth so they remain sparkly, your gums stay healthy and your treatment progresses smoothly.

Why You Need To Take Extra Care Whilst Cleaning Your Teeth With Braces

Whilst your teeth aren’t damaged directly by orthodontic braces, they can be difficult to clean. Every time you eat, food particles get stuck in your brackets, elastic bands and arch wire.

  • Plaque Builds Up Faster: Throughout the day, plaque builds up on your enamel. With braces, there is extra surface area for the plaque to stick to meaning bacterial growth increases.

  • Prevent White Spots: If the plaque stays around your brackets for a long period of time, the acids from the bacteria will take away minerals from your enamel. This will cause permanent white spots also known as demineralisation.

  • Prevent Gingivitis: Food particles get stuck along your gum line causing your gums to become inflamed quickly. This can cause your gums to bleed easily, cover your brackets and slow down how quickly your teeth move.

Essential Tools For Cleaning Your Teeth With Braces

Manual toothbrushes can be difficult to get around your orthodontic appliances. Create your own braces cleaning kit to ensure you have everything you need.

  • Soft Bristled/Orthodontic Toothbrush: Use a toothbrush with V cut bristles. The middle bristles will be shorter so they fit over your brackets and the outer bristles will be longer to clean above and below the wire.

  • Inter dental Brushes (Proxabrushes): Small tree like brushes which easily fit beneath your main arch wire to clean between your brackets.

  • Floss Threaders/Orthodontic Floss: Special plastic floss threaders or stiff ended floss can help to get your normal floss under your arch wire.

  • Water Flosser (Oral irrigator): A machine which uses a jet of water to remove any loose food particles and massage your gums.

  • Fluoride Mouthwash: A non-alcoholic mouth wash with fluoride will strengthen your enamel.

How To Brush Your Teeth With Braces

You should aim to brush your teeth 3 times per day, ideally after every meal and before bed. Use the following method:

Rinse

– Rinse your mouth with a mouthful of warm water for 30 seconds. This will help to remove any large food particles stuck in your wires.

Angle 45 Degrees

– Hold your soft bristle toothbrush at a 45 degree angle pointing towards your gums. Gently move the brush in small circles to clean the area between your gums and the top of your brackets.

Brush Brackets

– Place your toothbrush flat against your metal brackets. Move your brush in small circles to remove plaque from the front of your brackets and elastic bands.

Angle 45 Degrees

– Angle your toothbrush at 45 degrees pointing upwards. Clean the bottom of each of your teeth.

Flat Surface

– Brush the flat surfaces of your teeth and the smooth inner surfaces. Be sure to clean the back molars of your teeth.

Tongue

– Gently brush your tongue from the back to the front to remove any bad breath bacteria.

How To Floss With Braces

Flossing with braces can take longer. If you don’t floss between your teeth, 40% of your teeth will be dirty. Aim to floss between your teeth once per day before bed.

Thread Under Arch-wire

– Thread the stiff end of your orthodontic floss threader or pre-cut threader floss under your main arch wire between two teeth.

Slide Through

– Gently pull through until you have both ends of floss. Gently move the floss up and down between your tight teeth.

C Shape

– Move the floss into a C shape around the side of one tooth. Gently move the floss slightly under your gum and move up and down to remove plaque.

Gently Pull Through

– Gently pull through and thread the floss under the arch wire of the next gap. Repeat this for your whole mouth.

Water Flosser

A water flosser is an excellent tool to use as a second option when wearing orthodontic braces. It won’t fully replace your floss but it can be used to quickly remove any debris.

Orthodontic Tip

– Fit the special tapered brush tip.

Water Pressure

– Turn the water pressure to a low setting to avoid irritating your sensitive gums. Increase to a medium setting.

Lean Over Sink

– Lean over your sink and place the tip in your mouth. Turn the device on and move the water along your gum line stopping slightly at each bracket.

After Meals & Night Time

– Use your water flosser after your meals to quickly clean your teeth. Use your normal floss at night to really clean between your teeth.

Best Toothpaste & Mouthwash

Choosing the best products to use will help protect your teeth from decay and irritation.

Fluoride

– Choose a non-abrasive fluoride toothpaste. The fluoride will mineralizes your weak enamel to protect your teeth from bacterial acid.

Don’t Use Whitening

– Don’t use whitening toothpaste whilst wearing braces. This won’t work under your metal braces meaning you will have dark squares on your teeth once your orthodontist removes your braces.

Fluoride Mouthwash

– Use a non-alcoholic fluoride mouthwash every evening after brushing & flossing. Swish for 1 minute to create a protective barrier around your teeth.

Eating To Keep Your Braces Clean

The food you eat will affect how easy it is to keep your braces clean. Choosing the right foods will help to prevent your brackets breaking and plaque building up.

Avoid Hard & Crunchy Foods

– Avoid eating hard foods such as nuts, ice cubes, hard sweets, pretzels and corn chips. These can easily break your brackets off and bend your arch wire.

Cut Up Hard Foods

– Never bite into whole apples, raw carrots or hard crusty bread with your front teeth. Cut into small pieces and chew carefully with your back molars.

No Chewy Foods

– Avoid eating chewy foods such as chewing gum, caramel, taffy, liquor-ice and gummies. These foods will wrap around your wires and get stuck under your brackets feeding cavity causing bacteria.

Avoid Sugary Drinks

– Try to avoid drinking sugary drinks such as soda, sports drinks, sweet teas and fruit juices. This will cause your brackets to bath in acidic liquid speeding up decay.

Braces Emergencies

Sometimes there will be small issues with your braces. Knowing how to deal with small issues will help keep your mouth comfortable until you see your orthodontist.

Sore Gums & Cheeks

– Rub a small pea sized ball of soft orthodontic wax over any sharp brackets or poking wires that are irritating the inside of your lips or cheeks.

Poking Wire

– If your thin arch wire has come out of place and is poking your cheek, gently use the soft eraser end of a clean pencil to bend the wire back down to lie flat against your tooth.

Loose Bracket

– If your bracket has come loose from your tooth, leave it attached to the wire and cover with some orthodontic wax. Contact your orthodontist to come and fix.

Regular Dental Visits

It is very important to visit your general dentist regularly whilst wearing braces. Whilst your orthodontist moves your teeth, your general dentist will keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Every 6 Months

– Visit your general dentist every 6 months or every 3-4 months if you have inflamed gums.

Professional Cleaning

– Hygienists will use special tools to scale your teeth removing any hardened tartar around your brackets.

Early Diagnosis

– Regular visits will help identify any early signs of cavities, gum pockets or demineralisation.

Daily Checklist For Keeping Your Teeth Clean With Braces

  • Brush your teeth thoroughly for 2 minutes after every meal and before bed.

  • Angle your toothbrush at 45 degrees to clean above, on and below your brackets.

  • Use an inter-dental brush everyday to clean any food particles stuck under your main arch wire.

  • Floss between all your teeth once a day using a floss threader or specialized orthodontic floss.

  • Use a water flosser after eating to quickly clean around your brackets.

  • Use a non-abrasive fluoride toothpaste to strengthen your enamel.

  • Don’t use whitening toothpastes to avoid uneven coloring on your teeth.

  • Rinse your mouth with a non-alcoholic fluoridated mouthwash everyday.

  • Avoid eating hard, sticky and chewy foods which can cause your brackets to break and your arch wire to bend. They will also get stuck with sugar.

  • Cut whole fruits, raw vegetables and crusty breads into small pieces.

  • Visit your general dentist every 6 months.

FAQs

Can I use an electric toothbrush?

Yes you can! Electric toothbrushes are great to use as they remove plaque much better than manual toothbrushes. Many companies make specialized orthodontic brush heads to help clean around your metal brackets and wires.

What happens if I don’t clean my teeth?

If you don’t clean your teeth properly, plaque will build up quickly around your brackets. This will cause permanent white spots, tooth decay, inflamed bleeding gums (gingivitis) and bad breath. It can also cause your treatment to be delayed.

How often should I change my toothbrush?

Change your manual toothbrush or electric brush head every 2-3 months or when the bristles have become frayed or bent. The metal brackets will cause your toothbrush bristles to wear quicker than natural smooth teeth.

Why are my gums bleeding?

Bleeding gums usually means you have gingivitis. This is caused by plaques getting stuck along your gum line. Don’t stop brushing and flossing. Continue to gently and thoroughly clean your gum line everyday and it will remove the bacteria, heal your gums and stop the bleeding in a matter of weeks.