When you have braces, how well you take care of them has a direct impact on your comfort, your treatment time, and your results. If you’re thinking about starting braces but are worried the upkeep will be overwhelming, then you’ve come to the right place! It’s easier than you think, especially when you have the Razi Orthodontics team in your corner. This guide walks you through how to care for your braces so you can stay ahead of any issues and feel confident throughout the process.
Why Braces Care Matters
Braces do more than straighten teeth. They create a better bite, improve long-term oral health, and boost your confidence. But without proper care, things can quickly go off course. Not brushing and flossing thoroughly can lead to white spots on teeth (early signs of enamel damage), mouth sores, even cavities, and bad odors. Broken brackets or wires can cause delays and discomfort.
Beyond the physical effects, neglecting your braces can make treatment take longer or lead to setbacks in your progress. Staying consistent with braces care means fewer unexpected visits, faster results, and a smoother orthodontic experience overall. That’s why consistent, effective care is a non-negotiable part of your treatment.
How To Clean Braces At Home
Building strong daily oral hygiene habits that keep your mouth healthy and your braces functioning at their best is one of the easiest ways to avoid complications.
- Brushing Twice A Day & After Every Meal: Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste, and brush in small, gentle circles. Focus on each bracket—cleaning above, below, and all around—to remove food particles and plaque.
- Flossing With Braces Is Possible & Necessary: Flossing might feel tricky with wires in the way, but floss threaders or orthodontic flossers can make the job much less challenging. Interproximal brushes are also great for removing debris in tight spots such as between brackets and under the wire.
- Thoroughly Clean With Waterpiks: A Waterpik, or water flosser, can be a powerful tool in your braces care routine. It uses a steady stream of water to flush out food particles and plaque from between your teeth and around brackets, especially in places your toothbrush and floss might miss. Water flossing should be an addition to traditional flossing, not be a replacement for it. It’s a great supplement that makes your mouth feel cleaner and helps reduce the risk of gum irritation.
- Don’t Forget The Rest Of Your Mouth, Either: Your gums, tongue, and the roof of your mouth all need attention, too. Rinse thoroughly with water after brushing and inspect your braces to make sure nothing was missed. And since braces wear down toothbrushes faster, plan to replace yours more often than usual.
Following these steps to clean your braces provides you with a chance to check on your braces and make sure everything is in order. It’s also a great way to ensure your smile reveal at the end of treatment is everything you dreamed of by preventing white spots on teeth, decalcification, gum disease, and other consequences of poor oral hygiene that can make your new smile less than you hoped for.
What Not To Eat With Braces
Another one of the easiest ways to avoid braces complications, such as broken brackets, bent wires, or tooth decay, is by paying attention to what you eat. Certain foods can damage your braces or make cleaning more difficult, which can lead to delays in your treatment.
Sticky foods like bagels, caramel, taffy, and gum can wrap around brackets and pull on wires. Hard foods—like popcorn kernels, ice, and raw carrots—can snap a wire or pop a bracket loose. Though crunchy snacks like chips may not cause damage right away, they can put stress on your braces over time. While removing these things from your diet can be disappointing at first, remember it’s only temporary! Also, many of our patients use this time to branch out and experience new things, often coming to us with great braces-safe food recommendations they would not have otherwise tried.
As for what you can eat, we recommend cutting harder fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, and meat into bite-sized pieces, chewing slowly, and skipping anything that feels risky.
For more information, check out our Foods To Avoid video on YouTube!
Braces Care On The Go
Your daily routine won’t always be predictable, but your braces care is. A portable braces kit helps you stay prepared wherever the day takes you. Whether you’re heading to school, work, practice, or a weekend trip, having the right tools makes a big difference between a good day and a bad day.
We recommend keeping the following on hand:
- A travel-sized toothbrush & fluoride toothpaste
- Orthodontic floss or floss threaders
- Interdental brushes
- A small water bottle for rinsing & keeping the mouth hydrated
- Orthodontic wax & Orajel
- Compact mirror for quick checks
You can keep your braces kit in your backpack, pocket, purse, locker, or car so it’s always close when you need it. Though it might sound like “overkill” to carry this with you all day every day, we promise it’s worth it. Your braces care kit will elevate your orthodontic experience and make it that much more enjoyable.
Protect Your Smile With A Mouthguard
Braces don’t mean sitting out of sports or other high-energy activities; they just mean you need a little extra protection to keep you safe and your braces intact. Always wear a mouthguard, even if you think it’s unnecessary. They will cushion your lips and cheeks from injury and keep brackets safe from impact, which in turn protects your smile from damage!
Many contact sports like football, wrestling, or hockey make mouthguards a requirement. However, since mouthguards are so essential to smile care, Wheaton and Naperville orthodontist Dr. Razi strongly encourages mouthguards during all sports activities, including skateboarding, gymnastics, or mountain biking. They come with risks if something goes wrong, and braces can increase your risk of a more severe incident. A mouthguard is an easy way to help prevent injuries and save you from unplanned trips to the orthodontist or dentist. We offer them for all of our braces patients at no charge, so if you’re active in any sport or physical hobby, stop by our Naperville and Wheaton offices to pick one up!
What To Do If Something Breaks
Occasional issues happen—a bracket might come loose, a wire may poke out, or a ligature might pop off. Most of the time, these are minor and manageable at home until you can get to our office. Knowing how to respond can help you stay comfortable and avoid panic.
Here are a few tips to manage emergencies and soreness:
- For a Poking Wire: Use a cotton swab or the eraser end of a pencil to gently nudge it back into place. Cover it with orthodontic wax if you’re unable to stop the irritation.
- For a Loose Bracket: Use orthodontic wax to secure it in place and keep you comfortable until your appointment to get it reattached.
- For a Missing or Loose Ligature: Try to reposition a rubber one with clean tweezers or remove a metal one if needed.
The most important thing is to stay calm and give us a call. We’ll let you know if it can wait until your next appointment or if you should come in sooner. If you’re ever unsure what to do, it’s always better to reach out than to guess.u’re ever unsure what to do, it’s always better to reach out than to guess.
Razi Orthodontics Makes Braces Care Easy
This might seem like a lot to remember, but it’s not! Everything will quickly become second nature, and if you ever have questions or concerns, the Razi Orthodontics teams in Naperville and Wheaton are here to help. You don’t have to figure it out on your own! Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Feeling inspired to start orthodontic care for yourself or your child after seeing it’s not as intimidating as it looks on the surface? Schedule your free consultation(s) today!