There are a lot of people looking for information on how to remove plaque with braces. The problem is that many people don’t know how to do it effectively. Although, to be honest, it isn’t that surprising. Standard toothbrushes and flossing just won’t cut it. On this page, we want to take a little look at why it is so difficult to clean braces, as well as provide a solution for when it comes to how to remove plaque with braces.
Why are braces so hard to clean?
The problem with having braces is that food particles stick to them like crazy. Not just on top of them, which should be easy to reach, but also underneath them. Your standard toothbrush will not be able to reach under the braces. You almost certainly are not going to be able to floss around them without dealing with at least a little bit of pain. The result is that many, many people who have braces will end up with either gingivitis or decalcification of their teeth. The latter is a problem that you will never be able to fix, so you need to deal with it before it pops up.
Cleaning with an electric toothbrush
If you want to make life as easy as possible when it comes to cleaning around your braces, then you will need to pick yourself up an electronic toothbrush. You should make sure that it is a sonic toothbrush.
With an electric toothbrush, you will pretty much be brushing in the same way you would normally brush. Although, of course, the motion of the electric toothbrush will make things a little bit easier for you. With a sonic brush, water will be swished around your mouth as you clean your teeth. This water will be able to reach parts of your mouth that the standard bristles will not be able to reach. This means that you should be able to remove the food particles that are stuck behind the braces.
Do bear in mind that when you have braces, the head of your toothbrush is going to wear down a lot quicker than normal. This is because the metal of your braces will be quite abrasive. Thankfully, if you buy a quality electric toothbrush, you should be able to purchase additional heads for it. You may even find that the best companies will offer dedicated brush heads for cleaning around braces. You may want to get your hands on some of these too.
Cleaning with a water flosser
Obviously, if you are looking into how to remove plaque with braces, you will already know just how important it is to floss your teeth. The problem is that it is going to be quite difficult to floss with your standard floss. Instead, you want to get your hands on a water flosser. This nifty little gadget will spray small jets of water from it. This will enable you to spray water between your teeth and behind the braces. Basically, the water flosser will clear up any of the plaque that the electric toothbrush is unable to reach.
As with an electric toothbrush, if you pick up a water flosser, you should be able to purchase specific orthodontic heads. While you should be able to use a standard water flosser head for cleaning around braces, if you want the best possible clean you should make sure that you use an orthodontic head.
How often should you clean?
You should be brushing and flossing after every single meal. No exception here. You will be surprised at just how quickly the plaque will build up if you don’t do that. It will also provide you with more of an opportunity to clean your teeth properly. You should be cleaning your teeth for at least 2 minutes with the toothbrush, and a further 1-minute to 90-seconds with the water flosser. This should be more than enough to keep your teeth nice and clean.
As you can see; it isn’t that difficult to keep your teeth clean when you have braces. Just follow the advice on this page. Pick up a quality electric toothbrush and a water flosser. If you can do that, you will have everything that you need for learning how to remove plaque with power chain braces.
