Keeping your teeth white with braces is no easy task! Here are a couple of tricks to keeping your teeth sparkling white even with braces!

1) Brushing
No surprises here, right? Brushing removes plaque, and the use of a whitening toothpaste even goes further to keeping those pearly whites … well white. Brush after every meal so the food doesn’t just sit under your braces.

2) Flossing
Goes hand in hand with brushing. Flossing just takes a few minutes daily, morning and night, and helps to remove the plaque between teeth. Even that plaque causes staining, and worse (tooth decay). Super floss makes flossing much easier for people with braces and other dental appliances. It’s made up of three different parts: a stiffened-end threader (for flossing between wires), soft spongey floss (for cleaning around appliances), and regular floss (for removing plaque normally between your teeth).

3) Use a Straw
The less liquid that touches the teeth, the better. Drinking with a straw, say in the case of ice coffee can limit the possibility of staining, by keeping the coffee off your smile.

4) Sip Water Between Cups of Coffee
Here’s a good one. Drinking water between sips of coffee or tea can help to wash the staining chances away, and as you know … you’re supposed to be drinking more water anyway.

5) Minimize sugar as much as you can. Sugar causes plaque to build up a lot more quickly and that’s the last thing you want if you have braces.

6) Avoid teeth whitening products. While your braces are on, don’t use whitening products including whitening toothpaste or whitening mouthwash. The whitening agent only works on the place it touches, so wait until your braces are off before whitening or your teeth color will be uneven.

If you have any questions or concerns contact the orthodontic specialists at Nowlin Orthodontics, we would be happy to help!