A dazzling Hollywood smile is a dream of so many people, but what if nature has awarded you the wrong bite and you are embarrassed not to smile broadly, but even open your mouth again? Fortunately, the 21st century has already been in the yard, and mankind has long learned to correct such shortcomings.
Braces
Today, crooked teeth can be put in order at any age, using a bracket system for this. They perfectly correct the bite and make the teeth smooth and healthy. True, wearing them brings a lot of inconvenience, but the beauty of a smile is worth it. Possessing a lot of advantages, dental braces complicate oral hygiene, and pieces of food that are difficult to remove fall between the teeth and the structure. If the remnants of food are removed poorly, and some part remains on the teeth, this can lead to the development of caries. Therefore, it is very important to properly care for the braces. That is, thoroughly clean them from food debris. But how to care for braces to avoid possible dental problems?
Bracket Installation Rules
If you decide to correct the mistake of nature and get a beautiful, even dentition, be patient and ask beforehand how much time it will take and what will need to be done to achieve the desired result. First of all, even before the installation of braces, it is necessary to conduct professional ultrasonic cleaning of the teeth preparing for alignment, and then cover them with a special protective varnish containing fluorine. Now the process of installing the bracket system begins, it consists of several stages, which are the same for all patients:
- visit the orthodontist and make a diagnosis - at this stage you need to take a panoramic x-ray of the upper and lower jaws, as well as a side picture of the skull, possible casts of teeth and their photos in various projections;
- discuss with the specialist the treatment plan, determine the appropriate bracket system and discuss the time and conditions of wearing it;
- it will be necessary to carry out a complete sanitation of the oral cavity - the treatment of caries, periodontitis and other dental diseases, as well as the removal of tartar and plaque, if the dental rad is too dense or excessively deformed, then the removal of extra fangs or fours is possible;
- the installation of braces takes place in one visit and lasts about one and a half hours;
- wearing braces for the period determined by an orthodontist, during which it will be necessary to regularly make corrections. In the case of using the classical system - ligature, you will have to visit a doctor once a month, if you use a self-ligating system - then once a month and a half;
- obligatory consolidation of the achieved results is the installation of retainers on the teeth after braces are removed so that they strengthen in the new position obtained as a result of treatment.
Nutrition when wearing braces. What is, and which products should be discarded?
Note that dental braces require a certain lifestyle and some serious nutritional restrictions. Having put on braces, you should adjust your diet by removing from it those products that can damage the structure installed in your mouth. It is strictly forbidden to eat raw fruits or vegetables - they need to be crushed on a grater or mashed from them. Hard meat is also banned. It can be eaten only as a part of soups, stewed, grated, as minced meat. You can’t nuts, chocolate, sweets, especially sticky toffee, chewing gum should be excluded. It is worthwhile to refrain from berries containing small bones. The ban also includes coloring products - coffee, tea, thick red wine, various drinks and sweets with the addition of food colors. A balanced vitamin food will protect your teeth while wearing braces.
Discomfort when worn. What to do to the person?
In order for the measures taken to align the teeth to be effective and to help you achieve your goal, you should ensure proper care for the braces. The main rule is not to endure if you experience discomfort from wearing a leveling system, especially in case of pain. If they rub the gums, contact your orthodontist so that he corrects the structure and adjusts it to a comfortable state.
Orthodontic wax. Why is it needed?
If the braces still continue to rub in some place, the doctor will stick a special food wax. What it is? Orthodontic wax for braces is a successful development by Swedish specialists. It is a hygienic tool to smooth out discomfort during the initial period after installation. If the sharp edges of the braces irritate or injure the skin in the oral cavity, then wax strips glued to problem areas will prevent the formation of wounds. It is used very simply - roll a little wax into a small ball and stick it in a problem place on the bracket system. Damages already taken can be repaired with the help of medications recommended by your doctor.
Brushing teeth. Is such a hygiene procedure allowed?
To ensure high-quality and timely oral care with braces, it is necessary to brush your teeth thoroughly every day after each meal. In this case, a very high degree of purification should be achieved so that there is not even a tiny piece of food left anywhere. Since this can cause tooth decay. But is it possible to clean the braces with a regular brush, which cannot provide good penetration to hard-to-reach places? When caring for the oral cavity, a regular brush should be used to clean the general surface of the dentition. However, for more convenient deep cleansing of the places where the braces are in contact with the teeth, special tools should be used to care for this design.
When to clean? Hygienic brushes
How to care for braces? It is necessary to brush your teeth after any meal, but it is especially good to do this before bedtime. Stuck food particles that will be in contact with teeth all night can cause irreparable damage to tooth enamel. Plaque is very harmful to the gums - they can become inflamed and bleed. The most vulnerable spot is the teeth that come into contact with the details of the structure. Here, cleaning should be especially thorough, therefore, it is necessary to use special devices - brush brushes and mono-beam brushes. It will be more convenient and efficient to carry out hygiene procedures with these tools.
Wearing Braces - Cleaning Rules and Aids
To understand how to care for braces after installation, you need to figure out what tools should be used in the care process. An ordinary toothbrush will not be able to qualitatively remove small particles of food that have fallen into microscopic gaps between the tooth and the structure. Specially designed braces care products can help to cope with this daily difficult task. Today, there are many very effective assistive devices with which you can clean your mouth quickly and efficiently:
- For work in hard-to-reach problem areas, convenient brush brushes with a long handle and round bristles of different lengths are used. You can use one brush only for two weeks, then it should be replaced with a new one.
- There are also V-shaped brushes with which you can perfectly remove plaque under the arc in relation to the structure. With this brush, each of the teeth is individually treated, and the gum is not injured.
- Outside the house, a waxed floss helps to monitor the condition of the teeth, which helps to get rid of food between the teeth.
- Another useful device is an irrigator, which not only cleans teeth, but also stimulates the circulation of gums. A very thin jet, released under high pressure, washes the smallest food crumbs from under the braces and from the interdental spaces.
Step-by-step cleaning algorithm
How to care for braces? In this case, a very important aspect is strict adherence to oral hygiene. To prevent the development of bacteria, you must adhere to the rules for cleaning braces. We give the recommended algorithm of actions:
- clean the front surface of the dentition with a V-shaped brush, the movements must first be circular and then vertical, the brush must be positioned perpendicular to the teeth;
- clean the space between the system and the gum with a brush;
- clear locks, arcs, hooks of the system;
- treat the front surfaces of teeth and distant teeth with a beam brush;
- with a ribbed surface of the brush or with a special scraper to scrape off the language coating.
For high-quality processing of braces, use brushes and brushes with soft bristles. If you know how to care properly, and also use special products in the process of socks - elixirs, restoring mousses, waxed threads and other devices, then the process of oral hygiene will not cause much trouble and will take not so much time.
Which systems are better to install? Description of braces
When installing a tooth alignment system, many are worried about which braces are better? Without going into details, we will consider different variations. The ideal choice is when there is a balance between price and quality. Ideally, everyone wants to get the highest quality product at the lowest price. Is it real?
In fact, those systems are considered the best that will allow in each case to achieve the fastest result in gentle ways. Important markers when choosing a bracket system are: their aesthetics, treatment effectiveness, ease of wearing, cost, and existing disadvantages.
Since for most of the decisive moments when installing braces is the price, consider the most budget option - plastic braces. This material is the cheapest, but the designs are rather fragile and can break from time to time, which will automatically increase their cost due to frequent repairs and replacement of elements.
A pretty good option is metal braces. They also have a fairly affordable price, but the strength of the material is incomparably higher. With such braces you have every chance to undergo treatment without breakdowns and meet the deadlines set by the treatment plan.
Very good ceramic braces. They are most popular because they have a color close to the shade of tooth enamel. In addition, ceramics are durable, good elasticity, comfortable with constant wear and provides the highest treatment efficiency. However, it may be difficult to remove the bracket.
Sapphire braces are rightfully considered the most beautiful. They are completely invisible on the teeth, especially if their arc is white. Public people will like this option.
Another option for invisible braces is lingual braces, they are installed on the inside of the dentition and are not visible from the outside. But their price is much higher than with the traditional vestibular system.
The best effect in treatment is achieved by ligatureless braces. When using them, the dental correction will take place with the least application of force. In addition, these systems are self-regulating and take up very little space in the mouth without injuring the oral mucosa. But their price is significantly higher than that of ligature ones.
Answering which braces are better, it is impossible to say unequivocally. For everyone must choose for himself a suitable option for himself - according to his taste and possibilities. But according to medical observations, the metal vestibular bracket systems are recognized as the most promising for treatment and affordable.
How and when to remove systems? What next is prescribed to the patient?
Many patients are interested in how braces are removed and when to do it. Only a doctor can answer the first question, depending on how successfully the treatment has been. After removal, particles of glue may remain on the teeth, which is removed by a specialist with a drill with rubber nozzles and special brushes. The procedure itself goes like this:
- Remove the bracket with tweezers, gently and accurately separating one part of the system from the teeth from the other.
- In case of too strong fixation of the device on tooth enamel, it is carefully cut with a drill.
That is the whole procedure. And the payment for it, most likely, was already included in the total cost of treatment. However, after removing the braces, the treatment procedures still do not end. Now it is necessary to consolidate the effect obtained and in order for the teeth not to return to their original position, the patients are prescribed a retainer - a wire structure attached to the teeth on their back wall. They are worn constantly for some time, then only during sleep.
Little conclusion
Now you know how to care for braces. The recommendations given in the article will help you ensure proper dental care and achieve the best result.