Teeth Cleaning Tips For Children With Braces
Posted on: 22 May 2019
While new braces can help improve the overall look of your kid's teeth, it is important that they know how to care for their teeth when wearing braces. Even though there is a metal wire across the surface of the teeth, flossing is just as important to do on a daily basis. These tips can help a child keep their teeth clean.
Get The Right Tools
Just having normal dental floss is not going to cut it for kids that wear braces, since it will be very tough for them to thread dental floss under braces and between the teeth on their own. You'll need to get your child an interdental brush, which helps them clean between their teeth with the narrow bristles attached to a wire. You can also get them a floss threader, which will help thread the normal floss between their teeth, or you could invest in a water flosser.
Know How To Floss Correctly
Take some time to teach your kid how to floss correctly with their new dental tools. The interdental brushes come in various sizes. Use the largest size of interdental brush that will fit between any gaps in your child's teeth, which helps ensure the brush is removing all the plaque.
The interdental brush is gently inserted between the teeth and moved in and out of the gap between the teeth. It helps to curve the interdental brush slightly to get around the curved portions of the teeth. Wash the brush when you're finished, and change the brushes when the bristles look worn down.
Floss threaders work by helping your child guide a piece of dental floss between their teeth. It looks like a simple loop, but it is extremely helpful to get the floss in the right places. Stick the floss threader loop behind the braces, approaching from the gums. Place a piece of dental floss through the loop, and pull it upward. It will take the thin floss with it, helping place it behind the metal wire. Now they can move the floss back and forth to clean between their teeth.
If this seems like too much work for your child, they may enjoy using a water flosser. This device shoots water from a plastic tip that is attached to a hose, which helps shoot the water between the teeth to keep them clean. Of course, your child can't take a water flosser everywhere you go, so is is still wise to use other methods for on-the-go flossing.
Contact a kids' orthodontist for more information and advice.
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