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With so many brackets, wires, and bands to brush and floss around, dental braces care can be very challenging, to say the least. There are numerous hard-to-reach places located beneath and around dental braces. Care has to be taken in finding and removing food particles and plaque that accumulate in these areas.
Without proper dental hygiene, plaque and bacteria will build up, cause permanent tooth stains, tooth decay, and precipitate gum disease. While your teeth may turn out perfectly aligned, you will have new problems on your hand that can cause you pain and cost you money.
But there are things you can do to prevent this. Dental braces care is not that difficult once you learn a few basic methods to help in the process.
1. It is important to use a floss threader to floss your teeth at least once daily. The floss threader has a loop to insert the floss at one end. Run the floss threader between the wires and your teeth. Remove the threader and pull the floss into a C-shape around the tooth, flossing up and down the sides.
2. Make sure to check and see if you missed any areas.
3. Rinse with plenty of water when you are done.
4. Dental braces care also requires fluoride toothpaste and a soft bristle toothbrush with small head.
5. Brush your teeth each morning when you wake up, after each meal, and every night before going to bed. Pay close attention to places where brackets and bands meet the tooth and where teeth meet the gumline.
6. When traveling, take a toothbrush with you that has the same features as the one you use at home.
7. When brushing your teeth and braces, angle the brush toward your gums. Cover each and every tooth with small, circular motions. Concentrate on areas between the wires of your braces as much as possible. Use the bristles to brush over and around brackets.
Do not neglect regular, professional dental services, either. In addition to disciplined self care, you need to see a dentist every six months for professional tooth cleaning and a complete dental examination. This will keep your mouth free of cavities and plaque.Labels: braces, brushing teeth, caring for braces, dental braces care, floss threader, flossing
If you keep procrastinating about corrective dental treatment, your teeth are going to stay crooked. We know you are afraid that it will hurt to have metal in your mouth. We also know you will be embarrassed to smile.
That is why we want to fix your problem with cosmetic orthodontics.
Cosmetic orthodontics do away with the pain and obtrusive presence of metal brackets and wires. They use better materials that do not hurt your mouth, and that cannot easily be seen—if they are seen by anyone at all.
You can also count on spending less money on these treatments than you would on standard, banded orthodontics. In less time, for less money, you can have an award winning smile for the first time in years.
This is true because the materials used to make these braces are either clear or tooth colored. Some use clear brackets and tooth colored wires, while others use clear mouthpieces that fit over your teeth.
Take, for instance, the Six Month Smiles® program. This new brand of cosmetic orthodontics is ideal for correcting minor to moderate cases of crowded teeth that are out of alignment. They are affordable, low-profile, and comfortable. Because of their highly efficient design, it is also very easy to brush and floss your teeth while wearing Six Month Smiles®.
Another kind of cosmetic orthodontics called Invisalign does not use brackets or wires at all. Invisalign cosmetic aligners are mouthpieces that are special made to custom fit your upper and lower dental arches. Molds are taken of your teeth and used to make 3D models, which a computer then scans for alignment problems. The computer then incrementally maps out a 9-15 step program. For each step of the program, a set of aligners is made to correct the teeth as needed according to that stage of treatment.
This is the most advanced form of cosmetic orthodontics to date, because these aligners are not only made custom to your teeth, but also to the very process of correction itself. Each set of aligners is worn for approximately 2 weeks for about 22 hours per day. They are removable, so you can take them out while you are eating and brushing your teeth. They should be worn during your sleep though, and will not irritate your mouth or keep you awake because they are made from very soft, medical grade plastic with rounded edges.
These aligners are clear, so it is doubtful anyone will ever see them in your mouth. They are so snug you can speak clearly without sounding like you are wearing something over your teeth. Invisalign aligners are expensive than other forms of cosmetic orthodontics, but if you have a more severe case of maladjustment, a bad bite problem, or noticeably crooked teeth, they are the best route to go.
Labels: braces, clear braces, corrective dental treatment options, cosmetic dental braces, cosmetic orthodontics, invisible braces
One of the things we make it a point to do when removing braces from our patients is to make sure their teeth are white and attractive after all corrective devices have been taken out of their mouths. Not only do we remove brackets and wires, but we also give patients tooth whitening trays to make sure they enjoy a cosmetic outcome to the corrective orthodontic treatment they have experienced. There are 2 different methods that we use for removing braces. The choice of method depends on how the treatment of the patient concludes.
If the patient is seeking an adjustment, and their teeth are exactly where they are intended to be, we take out the wires, make alginate impressions of both dental arches, and put the wires back in. We then pour the impressions and send them to the lab to make bonded retainers. We schedule an appointment for removing braces appointment in 3 weeks. When the patient returns, we bond the permanent retainers to their teeth. We then take new impressions of both arches, and schedule another appointment in 1-2 weeks.
When the patient returns, we give them the bleaching trays and the backup removable retainers. These retainers are made from the models we created using the PVS impressions, and are manufactured from .040 ortho splint material and are trimmed 2mm from the gingival margin. They work exceptionally well as back-up retainers and whitening trays. Patients need these trays, along with take home whitening material, because after we finish removing braces there is always some tooth discoloration where the braces have been. Typically, 2 weeks of cosmetic teeth whitening at home removes this discoloration.
Sometimes, however, a patient comes in when their teeth are almost in perfect alignment. Before removing braces in these instances, we have to make the necessary adjustments first. Normally, we give the patient approximately 1 month for these adjustments to take effect. The patient the patient returns, and after we have completed removing their braces, we take out any cement or pieces of bracket that remain attached to their teeth. We then polish their teeth and deliberately leave the majority of the bonding material in place. This glue acts like a reservoir for custom bleaching when we pour the models. We take impressions, pour the models with a material called stat stone that sets in 5 minutes, and we make the removable bleaching/retainer trays while the patient is in the offices.
While the retainers are being made, the rest of the glue is polished off of the teeth. The patient leaves the office with their removable retainers, whitening trays, and material. A follow up is scheduled in 2-3 weeks for the patient to have their bonded retainers placed. The PVS impressions are then sent to the lab for the fabrication of the bonded retainers. When the patient returns, the bonded retainers are placed. After this, the removable retainers can now be trimmed on the lingual from canine to canine to fit over the bonded retainers. Labels: braces, cosmetic dental braces, cosmetic teeth whitening, removing braces, taking braces out
Braces can correct a bad bite after the majority of permanent teeth have emerged. Before the 1980s, braces were steel bands that fit like rings around childrens teeth. Wires that were attached to a bracket on each band pulled the teeth into alignment. This was very uncomfortable to children, and it was often very embarrassing for them as well.
Since then, orthodontics has made many strides forward. Braces are no longer manufactured from metal bands. Using an adhesive, dentists now bond the brackets directly to the front of the teeth. They are much less noticeable and much more comfortable for children to wear than were the braces of the past. Cosmetic dentists often use brackets that are made from clear sapphire brackets, but these are very expensive and hard for children to clean. These brackets are held together with a stainless steel wire, and the size of the wire determines the pressure needed to move the teeth. The wire is also held in place by elastics, and these help speed up tooth movement.
Believe it or not, braces can actually move children’s teeth through bone. This is because bone responds to tension caused by brackets and wires by making special cells on either side of a tooth. These cells remove bone on one side of the tooth and make bone on the other, moving the tooth in the process.
Children usually have to wear braces for one to three years. Because it is hard for children with braces to clean their teeth, frequent dental cleanings are paramount. Otherwise, a child may have permanent white stains develop on his or her teeth if plaque is not regularly removed.
After the braces are taken out, retainers are used to hold the teeth in their new alignment. Some retainers are removable, and others are bonded in place.
Young children can be fitted with braces, so long as they have enough permanent teeth. Conditions like an excessive underbite or overbite are very effectively treated with braces. If braces cannot be used due to insufficient numbers of permanent teeth, functional dental appliances can be substituted.
Functional appliances are usually used to correct misalignment or bite problems by holding the space created by a missing primary tooth. Such devices are fixed in place for extended periods of time, or they are made to be removable and worn for only a short period of time. With functional appliances, the protruding upper front teeth of an eight-year-old, which are very prone to injury, can be moved back into a less vulnerable and much more attractive position.
If a child is less than 10 years of age, the normal growth of his or her permanent teeth will sometimes push the upper front teeth back together. A dentist can x-ray these teeth to determine if the gap will close on its own. If not, braces or functional appliances can be used to correct these problems in children’s teeth.Labels: braces, children with braces
Dental Hygeine for Children with Braces
Braces for children correct a great many problems that plague growing kids. Overbites, underbites, and occlusion are just some of the many dental conditions that braces and functional dental appliances correct. Braces can be used on a child of any age provided they are affixed to permanent teeth. If a child is very young, and still has most of his or her primary teeth, functional dental appliances can be substituted for braces and still achieve impressive results.
Sometimes a child does not even need braces if problems with teeth are detected early on. In the early stages of most problems, a functional appliance is often all that is needed to correct the teeth of a child. One such device is called a space maintainer. It is used after a baby tooth has been lost and the permanent tooth has not yet emerged. A space maintainer can prevent the teeth that surround the gap in the smile from becoming crooked. If placed immediately after a baby tooth is lost, a space maintainer can conceivably make it unnecessary for a child to have braces.
This is not to say that braces are not necessary. Sometimes they are the only option. It is good to understand the challenges of dental hygiene that accompany orthodontics in order to better equip your child for both a healthy and beautiful smile in future years to come.
The downside to braces, however, is that they make the already challenging discipline of dental hygiene even more challenging for children. When a person of any age has braces, it is harder to keep teeth plaque-free and prevent cavities.
Children who are wearing braces need to use a soft toothbrush (so that bristles can reach under the wires and still clean teeth), and they need to use a toothpaste with fluoride. It goes without saying that they need to brush after every meal. The surface of each tooth should be brushed in a circular motion, and extra care must be given to the areas where braces meet the tooth, and where the tooth meets the gums.
Children with braces need to floss their teeth. No exceptions. Toothbrushes simply cannot reach between teeth, so only floss can remove the plaque that causes cavities in these places. 
To floss teeth with braces, kids should use a threader and slide it underneath the arch wire. They should then pull the floss between their teeth, pull it into a C shape, and move it around their mouths, flossing both sides of every tooth.
After children have finished flossing, they need to make sure they have not missed any areas. Once they have checked their teeth thoroughly, they should rinse their mouths thoroughly with water.
Reducing foods with sugars will help children with braces prevent cavities. Hard foods like Cornnuts and ice will damage they can damage braces. Children should eat softer foods and cutting harder foods into smaller bites when at all possible.
By watching their eating habits and paying careful attention to their daily dental hygiene, children with braces can keep their mouths healthy and teeth in great condition.
Labels: braces, children with braces, cosmetic dental braces, dental hygeine, flossing, tooth brushing
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