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Post Falls
Call / Text (208) 213-8327
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Exploring the Best Tools to Use at Home to Clean Your Teeth in Braces

Straightening your teeth for a healthy, properly aligned and beautiful smile takes time and effort and is worth every second! So is taking good care of your teeth along the way so that when the braces come off, your teeth are as healthy as they were when you began!

This means stepping up your oral hygiene game as you brush at least twice a day and floss at least once daily. You want to remove bacterial plaque and trapped food particles from your teeth, brackets, ligatures, archwires and metal bands. These tasks take just a little time and aren’t hard to do, so it is really just a matter of making it happen. Like the Nike slogan says, “Just do it!”

To help you take the best care of your smile while wearing braces, we have some tips to help make your job easy and fun.

Cleaning Tools for Braces

On the Run

If you eat while you’re away from home, it’s important to clean your teeth afterward as you still want to brush after each meal. Keep a travel-sized soft toothbrush and toothpaste in a handy plastic zip bag tucked into your backpack, pocket, or purse. If for some reason you just can’t brush your pearly whites away from home, keep a small bottle of mouthwash on hand or some kind of flossing tool and do the best you can. Every little bit helps!

Flossing

People sometimes take flossing less seriously than brushing but remember, flossing cleans those areas your toothbrush can’t. To achieve sparkling clean teeth means supplementing your tooth brushing efforts with a good flossing tool that can reach those areas like the molars in the back of your mouth. Find a flossing tool you like using, and then use it daily to discourage plaque. The toothy areas under the archwires won’t clean themselves, so floss daily, and your teeth will thank you!

You have a variety of flossing options to choose from:

– Floss Threaders: These are easy to use with a loop, strand of floss and a stiff point you can stick between teeth around the gumline. They are handy for reaching beneath the archwire of the braces to remove food particles.
– Dental Picks: These look a lot like toothpicks and do an excellent job of loosening oral debris under and around your braces.
– Superfloss: A pre-cut strand of floss with a plastic threader and a spongy part to clean wider spaces along with regular floss for more narrow areas.
– Soft-Picks: Interproximal flossers with a tapered section to reach adjoining spaces between teeth and your orthodontic appliance parts.
– Water flossers: These hi-tech flossing methods stream a pressurized jet of water between your teeth to flush out oral debris with the added benefit of massaging your gums.

Brushing

– Powered Toothbrush With an Ortho Brush Head: You want your toothbrush to clean the cracks and crevices around your braces. Nothing does this better than a powered toothbrush with an ortho brush head. Thanks to their oscillating movement they are gentle on the gum line while cleaning wires and brackets and also massaging your gums.
– Proxy or Interproximal Brush: These resemble tiny pipe cleaners that slide between the braces and teeth to get rid of any trapped food bits and sticky plaque.

Braces Wax

While braces wax isn’t a cleaning tool, it is something you will likely want in your oral care arsenal to protect your teeth and gums from being damaged by brackets or loose wires. This virtually invisible wax covers metal parts, so they don’t irritate your soft oral tissues or teeth.

Keeping your smile healthy while wearing braces doesn’t have to be hard, and with the right tools you can use at home, it can even be fun! Let us know if you have any questions about your braces, we’re here to make your time in braces as enjoyable as possible.

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Amberly S.
I highly recommend peach orthodontics! I’ve had a great experience with them. Everyone there is always so bright and welcoming. I get nothing but compliments on my smile. I’ve always been insecure about my teeth, now I’m able to smile without having to cover it up. I never thought I’d be able to afford braces but peach orthodontics has great payment plans. Thank you for everyone who’s helped me throughout my journey!!! ❤️
D N.
Kirstie was extremely patient and kind with my child when she was getting her braces on. We really appreciate Dr. Brent and all the kind staff at Peach Orthodontics. I have already had one child go through the whole process and they are wonderful!
Anneliese M.
We just started with Peach and we are loving it! They communicate great and have spent the time for us to be educated on our options.
Ali P.
Friendly staff, clean office, easy scheduling. We are happy we chose Peach for my kids orthodontic needs.
Maudie's Digital M.
I have nothing but good things tonsay about my experience with Peach. I have been seeing them for a year - my teeth are looking great- always fast, easy, and reasonable appointments. The dr is great and the staff are also wonderful to deal with.
Jenny P.
My son had two front teeth that were growing on top of each other. His smile is so beautiful now and he has so much more confidence. They were able to work with me on a payment plan that was affordable. The staff is so kind and welcoming. My daughter is going to be getting braces soon as well and we will be excited to have them transform her smile . I highly recommend Peach Orthodontist. 🍑
Oren M.
i have only been to two orthodontist’ and peach is much better then the other one even though there are cookies and hot chocolate and massage chairs at the other one
Stacey J.
The care we have received at Peach is incredible. They treat you like family and always make you feel at home. We scouted out a few places in the area that are popular and they didn’t feel as welcoming… more pressing and auto salesmen like. Peach truly understood us taking space to make our decision and gave us time to discuss. I’m so glad we chose Peach- they are fantastic! You won’t regret joining their practice!
Heather V.
Excellent. I love they are not rushing to put braces on my 10 year old. They are checking her and waiting to see how her mouth matures. This let's me know they care about these kiddos and not the $. I would totally recommend this office
M L
Dr. Brent is the absolute best!!! The whole team was so accommodating and kind throughout my treatment. Could not recommend Peach Orthodontics more!!
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Peach Orthodontics

1145 East Polston Ave
Post Falls, ID 83854

1701 W Prairie Ave,
Hayden, ID 83835

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1145 East Polston Ave
Post Falls

1701 W Prairie Ave
Hayden

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