After brushing your teeth, flossing is quite essential to ensure overall oral hygiene. But how will you floss your teeth when you have metal braces?
According to the dentists, cleaning and flossing your teeth when you have braces is as important as brushing your teeth to keep your teeth and smile healthy. Even if you have braces, you must not skip flossing. You can floss your teeth as well as the braces by making use of the wax-covered thread.
You must not skip flossing even if it takes some extra time with your braces. While flossing you must scrub the area that is hard to reach and can also be missed by the brushes. If you have braces, you should get a small interproximal brush which could be beneficial in cleaning around the brackets and under the wires. By using waxed thread and an interproximal brush, it becomes faster and easier to keep your teeth clean. Along with proper flossing techniques, it is essential to do it regularly to keep your teeth clean and healthy.
Here are some of the important and easy flossing techniques that you can follow when you have braces.
When You Want To Remove The Dirt Make Use Of Floss Thread:
To do this, you need to hold the thread tightly with both hands. Now insert the floss thread in the gaps of the teeth and begin scrubbing all around the teeth gently. You must clean the teeth one at a time and then take up another. Also, ensure that you are not putting extra pressure on the teeth can cause damage to the braces as well as the teeth. While you are having braces, it is better to use lukewarm water so that it becomes easier to floss the teeth. To make the process effective, hold the lukewarm water in the mouth for 2 to 3 minutes before rinsing out.
With the help of warm water, you can see that the plaque is removed from the teeth and does not let it get deposited on the teeth.
Make Use Of The Water Flosser:
Generally, most of the expert dentists recommend the patients to make use of the water flosser when they are having metal braces. While using a water flosser, you should ensure that the water reservoir is complete;y filled with water to ensure that you have full-fledged flossing of the mouth. Water flossers can be easily used to expel particles of bacteria and clean between teeth. Water is required in excess because it will help in flushing out a portion of the bacteria that may be in especially hard-to-arrive places. Water flossers offer another benefit, it can be used for gum incitement and reestablishment of the gums that are excited or retreated.
You Must Start With Back Teeth:
While you are flossing, you must ensure that you are starting with the back teeth. In this way, it becomes easier to remove the particles of the food that are difficult to see. Once the back teeth are done, you can slowly come to the front teeth as they are easier to clean and remove the particles. While flossing you must keep in mind that you are not putting excessive pressure on the teeth as it will affect the enamel.
What If You Find Flossing With Thread Painful? – Make Use Of Dental Tape
Most of the people who have braces find it very difficult to floss with thread. It is a painful experience for them. Well, this fact also holds true for the people who have not routinely flossed before getting braces. The unhealthy gums will start bleeding and develop swelling when you floss the teeth and braces with force. So these people can make use of dental tape for flossing. Basically, dental tape is an ultrathin floss that is smooth and spongy. The thinness of the tape helps it glide between teeth more easily.
Summary:
Whether you have braces or not, it is quite essential to floss your teeth regularly to maintain oral hygiene. Without braces, it is not difficult to floss, but when you have braces, there are certain areas of the teeth and braces that cannot be flossed properly. So you can make use of the above-mentioned methods of flossing and brushing. The methods will make sure that the flossing is done smoothly that there is no harm caused to the braces, teeth, and gums.