For a healthy, beautiful and bright smile everyone cares about proper dental care and regular visits to the dentist. The need for more effective oral hygiene is clearly greater during the period of time an orthodontic treatment is applied. For this reason, orthodontic patients must strictly follow the oral hygiene protocols set by the orthodontists.
During this period, brushing the teeth becomes a very important matter. The maintenance of oral hygiene with metal braces is difficult, due to the fact that food gets trapped on them. Also, the toothbrush should be of medium hardness and replaced frequently because it wears easily during use due to the orthodontic mechanisms.
It is good to brush thoroughly for at least 2-3 minutes every morning, evening and also after the main meals. Effective tooth brushing also depends a lot on the way it is carried out. For this reason, orthodontic patients should brush their teeth according to the orthodontist’s instructions.
Correct and regular brushing during orthodontic treatment does ensure oral hygiene and the aesthetic effect, but at the same time the choice of foods should be made very carefully during its duration.
In general, orthodontic patients should avoid chewing hard foods (bread crust, meat with the bone, baked nuts, nuts, pitted olives, etc.) and sticky foods (gums, delights, pastries, macaroons, etc.) .a). In addition, it would be good if they cut the food into small pieces and then chew them with the back teeth.
An important weapon for the protection of teeth during orthodontic treatment is fluoridation, which should be carried out twice a year. Fluoridation is a procedure that is performed locally on teeth (with mouth guards) in order to fill the fluoride stores of the teeth, thus increasing their difense against caries. In fact, through this practice, it has been established that tooth decay is reduced by (approximately) 60%.
Finally, the patient should come to the dental office once a month and follow the orthodontist’s instructions until the next appointment, while during orthodontic treatment with braces, this visit usually takes place every two months.
Of course, during an orthodontic treatment it is possible that minor problems may occur (e.g. the braces or rings detach, the separation rubbers are lost, etc.), irritations in the oral cavity or discomfort related to orthodontic appliances.
In these cases, the patient should contact the orthodontist to assess whether he needs to visit the office earlier. It is a fact that oral hygiene with metal braces demands good cooperation between the patient and the orthodontist, in order to achieve better results, in a shorter period of time! At Great Smile orthodontic clinic, the orthodontist can inform you and advice you, according to your special needs and the orthodontic treatment that you follow!