Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all,

I am 6 months in to a 2 year treatment plan and my ortho said i am not cleaning my teeth properly. He said its last chance and if its not improved next time he will take my braces off and end treatment.

I know flossing/interdentaling is lapse. But still it seemed a little extreme.

Anyways i will be damed if they are taking them off so please everyone tell me what is your cleaning routine.

I can't really help you there since I'm not much of a flosser myself but I had the same thing happen to me, except I didn't get a warned beforehand and my orthodontist was so fed up he took out my bracers out of the blue. 7 years later and I have to do it all over again except maybe with jaw surgery because things got out of hand.

So whatever you do don't let them take out your bracers!

I have a very simple routine: I brush after every meal for at least 2 minutes. I make sure to get above and below all the brackets. That's about it. I try very hard to either not eat between meals, or brush after snacks too. I rarely use inter-dental brushes. I floss, but like you, not as much as I should. Even so, I get rave reviews from both my dentist and orthodontist.

That's a pretty extreme ultimatum from your ortho so the best advice I can give you is to make an appointment with your regular dentist ASAP. Get a thorough cleaning, tell them what your orthodontist said, they will be able to give you suggestions and maybe some prescription products. Whatever they say; stick to it like glue. A Sonicare toothbrush and Waterpick may help too. You may need to go for professional cleanings more often, maybe every 3-4 months, while in braces.

I would also suggest maybe a good mouthwash at least twice a day.

I brush after i eat and i only drink water between meals. Floss once a day. Thats really all there is to it. If you do this and still aren't cleaning well enough then get your ortho to show you exactly how you should be brushing.

This is all in your own hands. It is your responsibility to keep your teeth clean. Going to a dentist without proper day to day hygiene is not going to do much.

Orthodontics is probably the most "optional" treatment in dentistry. Often you are trying to improve your bite and aesthetics. It is not worth treatment if you are unable to keep your teeth clean, resulting in decalcification, gum disease, and cavities. Conscientious orthodontists are aware of the level of oral hygiene. You should be appreciative of your orthodontist for trying to prevent you from having great dental problems in the future.

If you are not sure about how to maintain your oral hygiene, speak to one of the dental assistants in the office. They will be glad to show you and likely provide you with the tools you need to keep things clean also. Remember, it's now up to you :).

About 8 months into my treatment the ortho made an exaggerated point to let me know how impressed he was with my oral hygiene.

After he walked away I turned to the assistant and said, "That's just sad." "What do you mean?" replied the assistant with a quizzicle look on her face. I went on to say that the orthodontist shouldn't be surprised by good oral hygiene in his patients to the extent he has to make it a point to compliment them for it. One would think that if a patient cares enough to get braces then caring about oral hygiene should be a no-brainer.

The assistant went on to say that the orthodontist has to prematurely remove braces on occasion because the irreversable damage that can occur from poor oral hygiene in combination with brackets would leave the patient worse off than before they started treatment.

Re: brushing after eating – I have been told that you should wait an hour after a meal before cleaning your teeth. Apparently the acid and/or sugar in your food softens the enamel, which means you could damage the surface of your teeth if you brushed immediately. So I usually only rinse with water after a meal and brush properly a bit later.

The simplest solution is to brush and floss more often. It's a pain, but so what? Just do it. If you care about your teeth like theKurp pointed out, you should care enough to keep them clean.

I would recommend getting a waterpik. I use it to rinse my mouth in the middle of the day or after I brush my teeth when the toothpaste didn't rinse all the way. I usually floss at night as well and waterpik it before and after flossing. I just brush twice a day but the waterpik really helps keep my teeth clean while I'm in a rush to go to work, school, etc. between flossing and brushing. I also use sonicare and that helps keep my teeth cleaner than just brushing alone. Of course you would have to use it properly. There are a lot of tools and resources available to you to keep your teeth clean, you just need to figure out a pattern so you can get in the habit of it. I put the card with the nasty looking teeth that resulted from not brushing/flossing to motivate me to brush better. Good luck!

I had braces as a kid - Total failure, which is why I'm in them now as an adult and have completed 1 of 2 jaw surgeries. My oral hygiene as a kid in braces was horrendous. It certainly didn't lead to my failed orthodontic adventure and the need for surgery, but I have everlasting effects such as calcium marks and gum recession in areas.

As an adult, I swore I would keep everything spotless. I brush after every meal, which is a pain at work to have to brush in a restroom where people are coming and going. My nightly routine:

- Brush 2 minutes upper and 2 minutes lower with Sonicare Brush
- Waterpik
- Floss
- Rinse with Colgate Phos-Phur flouride rinse

Is this extreme? Maybe. Is it a complete pain in the butt? Yes. Is it worth the extra 5 minutes each night? Absolutely.

I think your ortho should be commended for being so firm with you. This isn't a joke, and there is absolutely no excuse not to keep things clean. Trust me, the repercussions are severe and life-long.

Ask yourself this:
When taking a shower, do you ever just wash one arm and leg, meaning only soaping up one side of your body??? NO, so why would you not floss daily? Flossing gets between the teeth, something a toothbrush can not do. Next time you take a shower, just wash one side of the body and see how you feel.

I ask this question to the people I know, who don't have braces and do not floss daily. It makes no sense to me. Foods bits stuck in teeth not only cause plaque, gum disease and gingivitis, but it gives one bad breath. Google images and see what these conditions in your mouth can do to one's teeth. Bad breath may not be noticable to one self but it is very noticable to anyone you come in contact with.

For my routine, even before braces, I floss everynight and sometimes during the day depending on if I can tell I have food stuck in my teeth. It gives an overall feeling of cleanliness. I brush after every meal also.

I think it's more about maintenance that over-zealous cleaning. If you brush properly twice a day, and floss properly once a day- and everyday- then you will maintain healthy teeth and gums.

I rinse after meals and brush only if something particular happens to be stuck, or I've eaten a curry of something

To get back the the proper level of tooth and gum health then maybe go that extra way and brush and floss more often than normal, but otherwise I don't think you need to go too over-the-top with your cleaning. It can't hurt, but it's not really markedly more beneficial.

sauerkraut wrote:Re: brushing after eating – I have been told that you should wait an hour after a meal before cleaning your teeth. Apparently the acid and/or sugar in your food softens the enamel, which means you could damage the surface of your teeth if you brushed immediately. So I usually only rinse with water after a meal and brush properly a bit later.

Thank you! I was just about to make a comment about it. It's advised to wait at least 30 minutes after your meal before you brush your teeth. I keep reading how so many people here brush their teeth right after every meal. I don't understand it.

My braces hygiene regimen was brush morning & night, along with using a waterpik. Attempt to floss daily (but I'd be lying if I said I did). In between meals I swished with water, chewed sugar-free gum with xylitol, and sometimes used interprox brushes. Used a fluoride mouthrinse occasionally. Applied fluoride varnish from work once in awhile.

Finished tx with no white spots or new cavities, though I have one diagnosed interproximal cavity from before that I still need to fix. It's probably because I didn't floss enough.