Plaque/tartar

[DanInVA]

Really having trouble controlling buildup. Globs of it above the brackets next to the gum line on the surface of the tooth. My cleaning has dropped off slightly but even at my best it was still a struggle. After a cleaning at my dentist a few months back I was disappointed in the results. My teeth still felt textured and slimy. I don't know if it was a half hearted cleaning or not the right tools. But yea

[bbsadmin]

Tell them that you want your teeth cleaned with the Cavitron (it's a water-based machine that can be used in place of most scraping). Also, do you use a Waterpik on a regular basis? If not, that would help.

[Ridingboots]

Have you tried a water pik I find it a tremendous help and rarely floss because of it

[leelou905]

Waterpik is a god send when you have braces and find flossing very difficult ( but you should still try to floss manually when you can )
Make sure you're brushing in all directions, treat it like you're brushing each section; on top of the brackets, undernethe the brackets, above the brackets below the brackets and in between. If you start concentrating on each section until you've done that entire row and then move onto the next section you will find all of your areas of your teeth and braces will have been covered. There shouldn't be any plaque left, you need to really pay special attention when brushing with braces because its not as simple as people think!

Anyway, If it were me, I would just up my routine and be getting knee deep in there with an electric toothbrush and waterpik

[ljms]

Have you tried a sonic toothbrush? I switched to one about six months after getting braces. I could tell after a couple of weeks that it was better and my dental hygenist notices too.