Orthodontic treatment can be very beneficial. However, it can easily become inconvenient and unpleasant. So, to help you have the best orthodontic experience possible, our Jacobsen & Maleeh Orthodontics orthodontic team encourages you to keep your smile and oral health in tip-top shape and avoid these dental issues as much as possible:
–Tooth decay: Your braces can make oral hygiene a bit tricky, but it’s still very important to clean your smile on a regular basis. If you don’t, or if you perform poor cleaning jobs, the food particles and plaque will remain on your smile, promoting tooth decay.
–Gum disease: Again, because it’s tough to clean around braces, plaque sometimes won’t be removed on a regular basis, which is very harmful to your smile. If the plaque stays, it can irritate your gums and eventually turn into tartar. At this point, your smile can become severely infected with gum disease. This dangerous dental issue can result in loose and lost teeth and extremely inflamed and infected gums.
–Sensitivity: It’s common for your teeth to be sensitive when you have braces. Your smile isn’t used to having brackets cemented to it and the constant movement is unusual for your teeth. Receding gums resulting from gingivitis can also cause sensitive teeth. So, to help with this issue, we encourage you to brush your teeth with fluoride or desensitizing toothpaste.
–Bad breath: If you have food stuck in your teeth, it’s common to have bad breath. So, to help with this issue, you can clean your teeth and braces after each meal and snack and you can scrub your tongue. You can also rinse your mouth with mouthwash after you’ve brushed and flossed.
If you need help keeping your teeth and braces in pristine condition while you align your smile with braces in Victorville, California, please feel free to call our office today at 760-951-7752. Your orthodontist, Dr. Michael Jacobsen, and our orthodontic team are here to give you the information you need to successfully straighten your teeth!