6 Tools for Cleaning Braces

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that cleaning your teeth when they’re in braces is more involved than when they’re not (and at Braces By Burris, we don’t like to coat things in sugar anyway). Braces create many new, tiny spaces to trap particles of food while at the same time hindering easy access to areas of your mouth.
But cleaning your teeth while in braces is more important than ever. Tooth decay and puffy gums won’t take a holiday until your treatment is over. We recommend cleaning your teeth at least four times a day, after all three meals and before you go to bed, and it’s a good idea to clean your teeth after any snacks too.
Even though cleaning your teeth when you’re wearing braces is both more difficult and more complicated, it’s not the hardest challenge you’ll ever face in life, and your local drugstore will carry all the tools you need to do it right. Here are 6 products that we recommend:

1. Toothbrush and toothpaste
Keep these old standbys on hand. Use a soft toothbrush with just a bit of fluoride toothpaste. Make gentle, circular motions while brushing at various angles, and be sure to cover all surfaces: the gumline, behind the teeth, as well as the top, middle and bottom edges of the brackets. You’ll need to replace your toothbrush more frequently than normal.

2. Floss threaders or Superfloss
These products have a stiffened end that allow you to thread the floss underneath the wires so you can get the floss between your teeth.

3. Dental picks
Dental picks offer another way for you to get underneath your wires in order to clean between your teeth. These plastic tools come in various shapes and configurations, so try out a few to find the one that you like best.

4. Proxa brush
Short for interproximal brushes, a proxa brush is like a toothbrush except that the bristles come in a short cone shape. It’s a more precise tool than a normal toothbrush so it’s good for cleaning hard-to-reach spots.

5. Waterpik
These machines shoot a jet of water at various pressures to “floss” between teeth. Orthodontic tips are available. They can be pricy, but they work more quickly than manual flossing, and they’re quite good at cleaning.

6. Mouthwash
Finish up cleaning your teeth with a rinse of fluoride mouthwash as extra protection against tooth decay.

Exactly which tools to use will depend on the braces you have and your personal preferences. Our orthodontists will offer you their advice when you get your braces on, and feel free to ask about any problems you might be having if one particular tool isn’t working for you. You’ll eventually get used to the longer process of cleaning your braces. Allow yourself to be motivated by the wonderful, straight smile that’s gradually taking shape.

Causes of Crooked Teeth

As children grow into adults, their bodies naturally become strong and healthy. Sure, everyone gets sick now and then and some kids come down with diseases or medical conditions, but across the population in general, our hearts, lungs, and other organs develop as they should. If that’s the case, why do so many people have crooked teeth? Studies have estimated that 70% of the population has at least a mild malocclusion, meaning some sort of crooked teeth or misaligned bite. That figure seems exceptionally high. Why isn’t a perfect bite and smile the norm rather than the exception?

            The truth is no one can pinpoint exactly what causes crooked teeth.

            Some scientists posit evolutionary reasons. They point out that humans used to live in hunter-gatherer societies, where they hunted animals for food and gathered berries and roots to eat. But they were always moving to follow game, and they never farmed food. About 12,000 years ago, people began to switch to agricultural societies and raised domesticated animals. Humanity flourished under this new model, and naturally our diets changed. Some anthropologists believe that this change in diet, where we no longer eat hard, raw foods, led to changes in our facial structure. Because we didn’t have to use our jaws as much, they shortened either through natural selection or because children growing up with a different diet developed differently. The teeth however remained the same and couldn’t fit well in the smaller jaw. This overcrowding is what leads to crooked teeth.

            Other researchers agree that crooked teeth weren’t as common in the past, but it’s our modern diet to blame. They claim that processed foods and the modern, industrialized diet aren’t nutritious enough to support a good jaw structure for a straight bite.

            While these types of studies have scientific evidence behind them, their conclusions are not definitive, and they don’t explain why at least some people have naturally straight teeth while others need orthodontic treatment.

            Genetics also play a role. Just as some people are born with long limbs or curly red hair, others have jaws that are too narrow for their teeth or bites that are misaligned.

            There are other factors that can cause crooked teeth. They can result when babies suck their thumbs or use pacifiers too long. Habits like mouth breathing can influence how teeth grow in as well. Crowded, misaligned teeth can also happen when someone loses their baby teeth too soon because an accident knocked them out or because adult teeth started pushing in early.

            The long and the short of it, there is no one single reason we can point to as the ultimate cause of crooked teeth. Depending on the individual, various factors can contribute to the problem. At least we have a solution: modern orthodontics!

Do I Really Have to Wear My Rubber Bands provided by Braces by Burris?

Do I Really Have to Wear My Rubber Bands provided by Braces by Burris?

In a word, Yes. The orthodontists at Braces by Burris would not have made rubber bands part of your orthodontic treatment if they didn’t determine them to be necessary.

The typical purpose of rubber bands is to correct an overbite or underbite. Once orthodontic treatment is over, your teeth will fit together nicely. Your smile will look lovely, and eating will be a lot easier. Rubber bands can also be used along the brackets of one jaw to help move teeth in a way that braces might not be able to do alone.

Tips for wearing rubber bands:

 

• Wear them consistently – You will need to take out your rubber bands now and then, during brushing for example. But be sure to wear them consistently. If you take them out and don’t put them back in, even if just for a little while, your jaw or teeth can start moving back to original positions, which can significantly extend treatment time. In effect, you might be starting all over.
• Use the right rubber bands – Rubber bands come in different diameters and elastic strengths. Make sure you use the ones given to you by us, or your jaw won’t move into place properly. If for some reason you want to order some rubber bands off the Internet, don’t do it. Instead, call us. We’ll give you the ones you need.
• Don’t improvise – Patients have been known to double up on rubber bands thinking that it will make their teeth move faster. In reality, it doesn’t work that way. Patients might also wear a set of rubber bands longer than instructed instead of replacing them daily or as directed. But rubber bands can lose their elasticity quickly, and wearing one set too long will negatively affect treatment.

 

How you wear your rubber bands will depend on the instructions you received from your orthodontist at Braces by Burris. Some patients who wear rubber bands need to wear them all the time. Others only need to wear them while sleeping. Some will need to wear them throughout their entire treatment time, but others will only need to wear them for a portion of it.