Brushing and Flossing

Brushing and flossing after every meal is very important if you are wearing braces in
order to keep your gums healthy throughout your orthodontic treatment.

Here are some helpful tips to remember when brushing:

• Brush teeth for 2 minutes after every meal with a soft-bristled, small headed
  toothbrush and flouride.
• Brush outside and inside surfaces of your teeth using small, gentle, circular
  motions while positioning the head of the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to
  the gum line.
• Brush your tooth’s chewing surfaces and the inside surface of your front teeth
  using short, gentle, back-and-forth motions.

Here are some helpful tips to remember when flossing:

• Floss after every meal, using a floss threader to thread the floss behind each
  wire.
• Wrap the ends of the floss around your pointer fingers of both hands, leaving
  a few inches of taut floss between them and the gently slide the floss between
  each set of teeth using a back and forth motion.
• Don’t forget to floss the sides of each tooth beneath the gum line to remove
  plaque and food particles.
• If you find that your floss is not removing all of the food particles between your teeth
  and around your braces you should look into purchasing a water flosser.