Delivering Outstanding Orthodontic Services for Cincinnati Teens in Need of Braces

The first thing to consider when cleaning your teeth is that there are three surfaces of each tooth that need to be brushed. These surfaces are the outside, inside, and chewing surface of each tooth.

The chewing surfaces of the teeth are the easiest areas to brush. However, when brushing the outside and inside of your teeth, you should try to make a forty-five-degree angle toward the gum line between the head of your toothbrush and the tooth itself. Try to focus on a few teeth at a time. Make sure these teeth are completely free of food and plaque before focusing your attention to other teeth.It is especially important to make sure the area between the brace and the gum line stays clean.

Flossing with braces takes time and patience but the effort is well worth it. The first step to flossing is getting the floss under the archwire that connects the braces together. We’ll supply you with a floss threader to aid you in guiding the floss under the wire. Waxed floss can also aid and simplify your flossing process. Once the floss is under the archwire, you will slide it down and around each tooth at least 2 times to ensure plaque build up has been removed. You’ll then repeat this process between each tooth until completed. Be careful not to put pressure on the wire as you move the floss up and down.

When putting on braces, Dr. Logeman uses a special adhesive strong enough to keep them attached to your teeth, but they are not indestructible. You need to choose the right foods to eat when wearing braces and other appliances. Look for softer foods if your teeth feel tender or sore. These foods are easy to chew. Stay away from sticky, hard or chewy foods, as they can damage your braces or appliances. Also, try to minimize sugary foods as they can cause cavities.

These are some of the foods you should avoid during your active treatment time:

• Ice
• Taffy and caramels
• Jolly Ranchers, candy bars, and other hard candies
• Gum
• Hard chips
• Carrots, Apples, Pear, etc should be cut into small pieces
• Popcorn & Nuts
• Meat should not be chewed off the bone – it should be cut off
• Corn on the cob should be sliced off
• Pizza, crust, bagels, and any other hard breads should be broken into bite-size pieces
• Avoid chewing inedible objects and keep pens, pencils, and fingernails away from mouth.

You don’t have to sit the bench or watch from the sidelines just because you have braces! If you want to play your favorite sports during your braces treatment we simply recommend using an orthodontic mouth guard.

The initial orthodontic mouth guard is included in the total cost of your treatment and it can protect your mouth from any potential injury. Protecting your smile while playing sports is essential to staying on course with your braces treatment plan, and with the use of a proper orthodontic mouth guard, any contact sport can be played with braces. Even athletes who play light contact sports, such as baseball, should consider using a mouth guard to protect the smile they are working so hard to achieve.