The correct cleaning technique for braces and brackets!

Your teeth are not as sharp as they should be, thanks to fixed braces, or. Brackets now nice and straight? But inadequate care has allowed decay and inflammation to spread? Horror!

Braces are trendy. More than every second teenager has. But be careful! Bacterial plaque can quickly form around the bonded metal plates, under the wires and in the interdental spaces. Proper care is important so that bacteria do not cause damage.

10 tips: How to clean your teeth and brackets!

1. Start with rinsing
Rinse your mouth thoroughly with water after every meal. This is how you first remove food residues. Chewing gum also promotes saliva production and helps clean the teeth.

2. Your new companion
Ideal: A medium-hard short-head toothbrush. Now you clean between brackets and gums with circular or shaking movements.

3. Now it’s time for the brackets!
Brush them first all around, then on top. To do this, place the toothbrush diagonally above the brackets. This is how you get to the brackets and under the wire. Then start at an angle at the bottom. Toothbrushes with a particularly narrow bristle field or a single tuft brush make cleaning around the brackets easier.

4. Do not forget your teeth!
Now you clean the chewing and inner surfaces of the teeth.

5. For tricky spots
Now use an interdental or tuft brush. This will help you get between bands, brackets, arches and in the interdental spaces.

6. Before going to bed
Additionally use floss or thin interdental brushes. This is how you clean even the hard-to-reach spaces between the brackets. It is even easier with soft- or easypicks.

7. Toothpaste with fluoride
To harden the enamel and make it more resistant to decay, choose toothpaste with 1.450 ppm fluoride.

8. Jellies and mouth rinses
Fluoride-containing jellies provide additional protection against caries. Use it once a week. Or: use a mouth rinse with fluoride twice a day. It provides good supplementary protection and also acts against plaque and inflamed gums.

9. Your dentist and you: a team
Check-ups with your dentist or orthodontist are important! On the one hand, he checks whether the braces still fit properly. Incorrectly adjusted brackets can cause unwanted tooth movement. The same applies if z.B. a bracket loosens or the arches become loose.

It is best to go to the doctor immediately for a repair. On the other hand, oral hygiene is also controlled. If there is plaque on the teeth, a prophylaxis assistant removes it and gives tips on how to clean your teeth effectively at home.

10. Forget the control appointment? Attention!
The health insurance company reminds you of forgotten check-ups. Two reminders are the maximum. After that, the health insurance company will no longer reimburse the co-payment.