Your daily oral care regimen needs to change when you braces, or wire retainers that are in place after you have completed orthodontic treatment. These will naturally trap more food and plaque which increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. You can use smaller interdental brushes, specialised toothbrushes or Super floss. Superfloss, or it’s equivalent in other brands, has 3 sections to it. The first part is a hard plastic section which enables the floss to be threaded between teeth, or under braces. Then, there is thicker section which is used for cleaning the surfaces and under the wire and a normal floss section on the end.
Another alternative is to use floss threaders, and loop regular floss through them, and follow the same principle steps below.
- Identify the area to be cleaned and the best place to pass the floss under it. Take the firmer end of the floss and thread it between the teeth, under the wire
- Grip it on the other side.
- Pull the floss under the wire and down against the tooth surface between the teeth – this may feel slightly uncomfortable, but is important to remove debris. Take care not to pull up on the floss and apply any force that could dislodge the wire.
