Have you recently been fitted for braces in Santa Barbara, CA? The team at Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics wants to make sure that you know how to effectively keep your braces clean and your mouth healthy to ensure a successful orthodontic treatment outcome.

While you are wearing your braces, food has more spots to hide and collect. You have to be diligent in your daily oral care to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth, and cavities. To obtain the perfect smile you’ve always hoped for (and to impress Drs. Raymond Kubisch and Andrew Ferris during your next visit), follow these ten tips for a healthy mouth from Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics:

• One tooth at a time. When you brush your teeth, Dr. Raymond Kubisch  stresses that you take your time with each individual tooth. Focus on each one for at least 10 seconds, and pay close attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces. This way, you are ensuring that every single tooth is being well taken care of.

• It’s all about the angles. The team at Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics suggests that you brush your top teeth and braces with your brush angled downward, and brush your bottom teeth and braces with your brush angled up. This is the best way to clean them thoroughly.

• The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most important place to clean, Dr. Andrew Ferris wants you to know that it’s equally important to clean the inner and chewing surface of your teeth, your tongue, and along your gum line (a key spot for plaque buildup). These surfaces need cleaning just as much as the front of your teeth, and though you cannot see it, leaving them unattended will cause damage to your oral health.

• Brush after every meal. Food can easily get caught in your braces and in between your teeth, which can lead to tooth decay and other oral health problems. Also, the longer food stays in contact with your teeth, the greater the opportunity for plaque to form. So, Dr. Raymond Kubisch says if you can’t brush after every meal, it is best to thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.

• Make a first aid teeth-cleaning kit. Get into the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss with you wherever you go. Design a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your bag at all times to keep your braces and smile happy & healthy.

• Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss. This will help you to keep from breaking your appliances and will also allow for the best possible cleaning job.

• Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. The team at Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics recommends that all patients, braces or no braces, brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.

• Interproximal brushes. Sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes, these cone-shaped brushes come in handy when you need to reach those spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t reach. Invest in one of these to keep your teeth perfectly bright and clean throughout your orthodontic treatment at Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics.

• Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some of Dr. Andrew Ferris’s patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader or Superfloss. A floss threader helps you get the floss into those tight places, and Superfloss is an all-in-one product which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces. Test out which one feels the best for you, and be sure to use it diligently!

• Make an appointment with Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics. It is important that Dr. Raymond Kubisch continues to check on the progress of your treatment to ensure that your braces are functioning properly and that you are on track for a successful outcome.

Visit Dr. Raymond Kubisch, Dr. Andrew Ferris and the team at Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics regularly while receiving orthodontic treatment in Santa Barbara, CA to get a deep, thorough dental cleaning that only an oral health care professional can provide. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Kubisch & Ferris Orthodontics, or if you have questions or concerns about orthodontics or your overall oral health, please call us at 805.687.7417.