Looking After Your Brace

Helping you care for your dental health while wearing braces

Food and plaque collects around your brace, commonly along the gum margins. If this is not effectively removed, it can result in swollen, bleeding gums and stained or decayed teeth. If your gums bleed when brushing, you need to start brushing them more rather than less.

Ineffective tooth brushing and too many sugary foods can lead to white or brown marks on your teeth when your braces are removed. These will not polish off and may even require treatment from your dentist. Maintaining a regular brushing routine and making healthier food choices will minimise the risk of these marks.

Fixed Brace

Naturally, it is more difficult to clean your teeth around the brackets when you have a fixed brace, so brushing will take much longer. We are happy to help and advise you during your appointments and can recommend a number of different techniques and shaped brushes to make it easier.

Top tips

• Clean your braces three times a day, after each meal. If you find this is not possible at lunchtime, rinse with cold water and brush your teeth as soon as you can.
• Use an orthodontic toothbrush to brush above, below and over each bracket, ensuring you also brush the gums to keep them pink and healthy.
• Use an interdental brush, or Tepe brush, to pass under the wire on every tooth and remove any trapped debris.
• Disclosing tablets can be useful to help show you the areas you are missing when you brush. They use dye to stain any leftover plaque red, so you are able to go over those areas again.
• Use a fluoride mouth rinse last thing at night to help strengthen and protect your teeth.

Removable Brace

Here are some of our tips for looking after your appliance.

Top tips

• Remove your braces to brush your teeth as normal twice a day
• Before going to bed, use a fluoride mouth rinse to help strengthen and protect your teeth
• Clean your removable brace using a dedicated soft toothbrush (without toothpaste) and cold water
• A brace cleaner, such as Vitis Retainer Cleaner, can also be used to keep your brace fresh
• Do not eat or drink sugary foods with your brace in, as this can lead to tooth decay

Foods to avoid

To prevent breaking your fixed brace you must:

1: Avoid all hard foods such as:

• Crusty bread, pizza crust, hard biscuits
• Corn chips and other types of hard crisps or popcorn
• All nuts unless they are ground

2: Avoid any sweets or sticky foods such as:

• Chewing gum, sticky toffee, chewy sweets or boiled sweets

3: Avoid any fizzy drinks

• Even diet fizzy drinks as these contain alot of acid or excessive amounts of fruit juice as these are also acidic.

4: Avoid biting into any thing with your front teeth as this can dislodge the brackets on the front teeth

• Corn on the cob or meat you eat off the bone must be avoided
• Biscuits – break into small bits and chewed on your back teeth
• Apple –slice thinly and chewed on your back teeth
• Raw carrot – should be grated
• Nail biting and pen chewing must be avoided

Remember, when a brace is broken your treatment time may increase. Please check daily that your brace is not broken. If it is contact the practice and make an appointment to have it repaired as soon as possible.

Teeth & Brace Friendly Foods PDF