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Taking care of your teeth and gums, making sure to keep them clean at all times is very important. This becomes even more so when you have to wear braces to straighten your teeth. Whether this is for aesthetic or functional reasons, you will not want to have the end results spoiled by damaged teeth or sore and swollen gums.

In this context we will discuss the Clear Aligner teeth straightening system later on, but first of all, we take a look at the more commonly known conventional braces.

What’s the problem?

Most conventional dental braces use a series of wires and brackets which work to put pressure on the teeth, encouraging them towards the desired goal. These same wires and brackets though, also tend to be problematic when it comes to trapping pieces of food in them. These small pieces of food, if not removed, will attract bacteria which can both cause significant enamel damage as well as laying the foundation for gum health problems.

How to clean your teeth

Naturally, you should brush your teeth as well as you possibly can do in your usual manner. Before you do this however, give your mouth a good swill with water. This will help to remove, or at least loosen, some of the food pieces, making their removal with brushing that much easier and efficient. Take care when brushing too, doing it slowly and accurately to ensure maximum effect. Allow a little more time than normal to achieve this.

Cleaning between the teeth is also very important, but also more difficult when wearing braces. Talk to The Lodge Dental Suite hygienist about the best way that you can achieve this, in order to keep your teeth as healthy as possible.

Clear Aligner

There is another alternative to this trickier cleaning, and that is to use orthodontics that don’t use wires or brackets to achieve their aims. Our Cheshunt surgery uses Clear Aligners for this purpose. These are removable orthodontics which sit directly over the teeth. Not only do these offer a higher degree of discretion than regular braces, but also make keeping both teeth and gums healthy a lot more simple.

To clean your teeth,  you simply remove the Clear Aligner and clean your teeth in the usual manner before replacing. This is a great way to achieve an attractive set of straight teeth without the additional risk of decay and gum disease.

If you are considering having your teeth straightened and would like to discuss the range of orthodontics that we have available at The Lodge Dental Suite, please call our Cheshunt dental clinic on 01992 643388.

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