Brushing & Flossing With Braces
Summerhill Orthodontist
- If you have been instructed to wear elastics (rubber bands), please remove them prior to brushing.
- Use a soft to medium bristle toothbrush and toothpaste to carefully clean around wires, brackets, bands and hooks.
- Move top to bottom, and all the way around upper and lower teeth.
- Brush your teeth for two minutes, twice daily. That means each quadrant of your mouth gets 30 seconds.
- Rinse with mouthwash and check for any remaining food particles, plaque or debris.
- Use waxed floss (about 18 inches of floss) and a floss threader or superfloss to floss. Unwaxed floss is more likely to get caught and shred in your braces.
- Thread the floss and threader or superfloss carefully under the main wire before passing between two teeth. Don’t snap it – simply move up and down gently, remove, and move on to the next pair of teeth.
*Parents: Do the flossing for younger children who lack the coordination to thread the floss under the main wire of their braces.
