Keeping your teeth clean while you’re wearing braces can be difficult. Food can get stuck in the braces, and you have to be diligent to brush and floss it away.
Even if you follow all of these tips, you may still see the need for further cleaning. It can be difficult to get the floss behind the archwires and around the brackets that are cemented to your teeth. That’s where a water pick will come in handy.
Water picks, called “oral irrigation devices,” are a kind of floss—except instead of a piece of wax floss to remove food from your teeth, you use a strong, thin stream of water. That stream of water can dislodge food particles from between the parts of your braces. The real advantage to using a water pick is that there are some places where you simply can’t get wax floss to reach, but is within reach with water.
You can position a water pick so that the stream of water can hit anywhere. Not only does it get the food particles out, it can also remove the bacteria that live in your mouth and cause tooth decay.
If you have sensitive gums, and find that flossing can be irritating, you can trust a water pick to be gentle. However, you should never use only a water pick instead of floss. Instead, floss and use a water pick afterward to remove hard-to-reach bacteria and food.
Another option is to use Invisalign, a system of clear plastic retainers that work just as well as braces. Since Invisalign simply fits over your teeth, it is removed when you eat, drink, brush, or floss. Using this nearly-invisible treatment not only straightens your teeth, no one knows that you’re wearing them.
If you’re interested in either braces or Invisalign, contact Kings Orthodontics today. Let us help you achieve a beautiful smile. We have offices in Bridgeville, Wexford, and downtown Pittsburgh.
