Using braces or retainers can be sometimes difficult because of its structure; however, even if you have those wires in your teeth you will also have the capability of having a perfect smile with those metals on your teeth. The first thing that you have to remember in having those dental braces is about its advantages and long term results; after a few years of wearing those metals on your teeth, you will have a perfect smile ever but of course, you can also have that smile today with the braces or retainers in your teeth.

In wearing those metal brackets as well as having the treatment, a person must be patient enough to maintain his teeth’s cleanliness so that he will not going to develop tooth decay.  Since the equipments or appliances that were used in the orthodontic treatment like wires, rubber bands, springs and braces were easy to be stained by some foods and plaque there is a big possibility to develop tooth decay and to prevent this, a person should always maintain the cleanliness of the teeth using fluoride toothpaste or it would be best also to use fluoride mouthwash afterwards since it will clean those portions of the teeth that is not reached by toothbrush.

In cleaning the teeth it is a must to use floss and brush the teeth in the right way; first, you should place the floss to the space between the upper portion of the tooth that is close to the gum and the main arc wire and then try to do a saw motion on to it gently so that the food will be removed. After this, you have to brush your teeth with a normal soft toothbrush in an up and down motion; you have to make sure that you will clean each tooth.

The next thing that you have to do is to use a “Christmas tree brush” or what they call proxabrush that is solely designed for teeth that have braces. Then you can brush your teeth from the bottom up to the top and repeated motions until every tooth is clean. If this would be done always after eating then you can protect your teeth against cavity or tooth decay and you will also have a perfect smile of clean and fresh breath.

Of course, like other treatments, there are some things that a dental patient has to remember all the time and this is about the foods that a patient should avoid so that it won’t be hard for him/her to brush and clean the teeth. The foods that should be avoided were those foods that are hard to chew or those which can stick to your teeth like apples, caramels, corn, hard pretzels, popcorns, nuts, carrots, chewing gum and even cubes of ice and the likes. All of these can either break or damage and stain your braces and retainers so as much as possible avoid these certain types of foods.

It is also important to consider the cleanliness of your retainers; it is very important to clean it once a day to maintain its cleanliness or you can also wear a mouth guard that is designed to protect your teeth if in case you get hit in the mouth.