Oral Care Tips For Kids With Braces: Dos And Don’ts

Teaching your kids to maintain good oral health is tough but it gets even tougher when they get their braces. Braces need extra care to be taken; so that it works at its best, does not break or cause cavities and other oral problems.

Here are a few tips to follow to maintain good oral health with braces:

· Food tends to stick very easily in the gaps of your braces. It is important to brush your teeth after every meal when you have braces to avoid food particle accumulation in your teeth and plaque formation.

· Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and white fluoride-containing toothpaste to brush your teeth.

· In case brushing isn’t possible after the meal, rinse your mouth thoroughly after the meal to ensure that no food particle remains stuck in the mouth

· In case of a rubber band or elastic present around your braces, remove it before brushing

· Keep a habit to floss daily with the help of a floss threader. Floss under the brace wire and between the teeth.

· If flossing gets difficult with a floss threader, use an interdental cleaning brush.

· Use a mouthguard while playing sports to avoid any physical damage to the braces while playing.

· Avoid hard and crunchy foods that can damage your braces. Avoid foods like nuts, chips, hard bread or toast, hard taco shells, pizza crust, etc.

· Avoid sticky foods like; caramel, gummies, gooey chocolates, peanut butter, toffee, etc. such foods easily get stuck between the gaps in the braces and lead to tooth decay.

· Try keeping away foods and drinks with high sugar content like; cakes, candies, ice creams, soda, etc. Such foods can cause tooth decay.

· Most importantly, go for regular clean-ups and check-ups to your dentist to ensure that oral health is well maintained.