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How To Floss Your Teeth With Braces

For kids with braces, knowing how to properly floss their teeth is important to the overall health of their smile. Although it can be difficult to clean between the wires, using the right technique helps prevent bad breath and cavities.

Below is everything you should know about caring for your child’s teeth while they have braces.

How to Floss and Brush With Braces

Learning to brush and floss teeth at an early age is key to a healthy smile. These habits can be interrupted when braces are introduced. With their wires and brackets, braces block parts of the tooth and make it hard to reach plaque buildup. 

Since children usually wear braces up to two years, making sure teeth stay healthy during the process is important. Most dentists recommend that individuals with braces brush their teeth after every meal.

Colgate offers the following tips for brushing and flossing teeth with braces:

  • Rinse first to loosen food stuck in the braces
  • Use quality, ADA-approved tooth paste
  • Brush and floss slowly
  • Brush every tooth at the gum line and above the brackets
  • Angle the toothbrush down on top of the brackets
  • Angle the brush upwards to brush the bottom of the wire
  • Assist children who are too young to brush properly
  • Use floss threader and small picks to get between teeth and brackets

It is a good idea for kids to floss every time they brush their teeth to remove any remaining particles stuck between teeth or in braces.

Better Flossing Means Healthier Teeth

Brushing and flossing is about more than having pretty teeth—it’s about preventing tooth decay. Cavities are the number one issue facing children, according to the National Oral Health Foundation. Brushing and flossing prevents common dental problems like gingivitis, tartar, and demineralization.

Because wearing braces makes it more difficult to brush and floss well, special care must be taken.

Although flossing is important, flossing alone isn’t enough. Children with braces should see a dentist at least twice a year to prevent cavities and infection. Kool Smiles is a network of dental practices throughout the United States that focuses on kids.

We accept many forms of payment, including Medicaid, state-sponsored health insurance plans (SCHIP), TRICARE, and most private health insurance plans.

Schedule a Routine Exam at Kool Smiles Today

Kool Smiles offers a wide range of services, including cleaning, fillings, and orthodontics (at many locations). Call Kool Smiles today to make an appointment.

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Sources: 

KidsHealth: http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/braces.html

Colgate: http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/cosmetic-dentistry/early-orthodontics/article/how-to-brush-teeth-with-braces-0513

NCOHF: http://www.ncohf.org/resources/tooth-decay-facts