Caring For Your Smile Between Orthodontic Visits

Article by Dr. Leaver & Dr. Gardner

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s temporary closings and stay-at-home orders, we’ve been awfully lonely here at Leaver & Gardner Orthodontics. We haven’t been able to see our patients as much as we would like to, but we’ve heard from many of them, wondering if they should do anything special to keep their teeth and mouth healthy in these uncertain times. Let’s explore caring for your smile between orthodontic visits, especially when you have to wait longer than usual to see us! Keep reading below for more information.

KEEP UP WITH YOUR DENTAL HYGIENE

Of course, making sure that your teeth and gums are healthy is always important, but it’s a vital part of your treatment plan too. Tooth decay and gum disease may lead to complications in your treatment, and can even affect the final results. Whether you’re wearing traditional braces or clear aligners, there are some basics of dental hygiene that you should always follow! These guidelines will help you maintain clean teeth, a healthy mouth, and fresh breath, and keep your treatment on track:

If you’re wearing braces, you already know that it can take some skillful maneuvering to clean around the brackets and wires. For the best results, we recommend:

If you wear Invisalign, you should be following the same basic guidelines for dental hygiene, but you’ll need to care for your aligners too. Always rinse them off before putting them back in your mouth, and remember to clean them well with soap and water at least twice a day. If you notice any build-up, you can soak your aligners in an oral apparatus cleaning fluid to remove it. You can clean them with toothpaste too, but this increases the risk of scratching, dulling, or otherwise deforming them; soaking them is your best bet for safely and thoroughly cleaning them. You should never clean them with or soak them in hot water, and remember to keep them away from heat sources so they retain their shape.

FOLLOW YOUR ORTHODONTIST’S GUIDANCE!

If you’ve been given elastics to wear with your braces or aligners, ensure that you wear them exactly as directed. If you’ve recently completed treatment, continue to wear your retainer as instructed by your doctor.

Invisalign patients will normally be provided with several weeks’ worth of aligners at a time, but if you run out of aligners before your next scheduled appointment, we can arrange curbside pick-up for the next set. Dr. Leaver and Dr. Gardner are also available for video or telephone appointments if you have any questions or concerns. Socially-distanced options like these mean that all of our patients can continue their treatments safely, conveniently, and without delay.

If we’re unable to provide you a new set of aligners right away, you can continue wearing the last set you were given. However, you should only wear them 10-12 hours each day instead of the usual 20-22 hours. This shortened wear duration will help extend the life of your aligners until an appointment is available. This way you can keep your treatment plan on track and ensure that you don’t lose any of your hard-earned progress!

LIMIT YOUR SUGAR INTAKE

Cavities can negatively affect your treatment, which is unfortunate since most orthodontic procedures tend to exacerbate the risk of cavities. To combat this, try and avoid sugary snacks and drinks as much as you can. Food that is high in sugar and starch encourages plaque growth, which can lead to tooth decay or gum disease.

Sugar is also a carbohydrate, and carbs fuel the acidic compounds that cause cavities to form. This is bad enough on teeth without braces, but add in brackets and wires and you’ve got multiple places where bad bacteria can hide and multiply! Swap sugary drinks for water instead—it’s good for your body and can help flush food particles out of your braces and from in-between your teeth.

MAKE A CARE KIT FOR YOUR BRACES

We recommend that all of our patients with braces stay prepared for unexpected orthodontic emergencies by keeping a “care kit” with them at all times. Some of the items we recommend including are:

Throw these items and whatever else you think would be useful into a small, portable bag and you’ll have everything you need in a pinch! This can end up saving you quite a bit of time, trouble, and discomfort if you need to perform unexpected care or you end up having to wait longer than expected for your next appointment.

YOUR SMILE IS A TEAM EFFORT AT LEAVER & GARDNER ORTHODONTICS

We’re rooting for you, even when you’re not physically in our office! Our expert team is always here to answer your questions or address any concerns you might have about your treatment plan. Caring for your smile is a lifelong process, and it’s never a bad time to make sure that you’re doing all you can to keep your treatment on track.

For more ways to be proactive with the orthodontic process, click here or get in touch to schedule an appointment with Dr. Leaver and Dr. Gardner.