The Health in Hygiene

Careful hygiene is especially important when you have braces. Not to sound like your mother or dentist. This includes flossing, brushing, and extracting hard to reach bits of food stuck in between your braces.

One of the reasons this is necessary is because when you have a piece of food under your wire for a while, it starts to rot (gross, right) and makes your breath smell bad. Another obvious reason is that if you smile and there is, for example, lettuce stuck in your teeth, everyone can see it and it’s very embarrassing. Brushing is also important because when you get them taken off, if you haven’t brushed, there will be small white squares on your teeth with yellow all around it! So remember brush, brush, brush!

Here are some tips for your dental hygiene:
1. Buy waxed floss as it is easier to stick under the wire and will make your job of flossing a bit easier.
2. Make sure to brush above your braces for the top and below them for the bottom.
3. Use a toothpick or something similar to push out those chunks of food stuck in your braces. Carrying one around with you is also helpful when you go out to eat!

-Amanda and Erik