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Top Tips to Teach Your Child About Taking Care of Their New Braces

teen with new braces

Have you been teaching your child how to take care of their teeth since before they cut their first tooth? Being on top of your kids regarding good oral hygiene is a constant challenge and one where braces add a further dimension to the daily drama. While braces will hopefully make your child smile more confidently, they do increase the amount of care and attention that your children will need to put into their oral care.

If a lack of tooth decay and cavities aren’t enough reinforcement to encourage your children to follow our tips, then remember that correct braces care can make them work more efficiently and speed up the whole process towards getting them taken off. In this article, we will give parents a few of our top tips to teach your child about taking care of their teeth and new braces.

Up the cleaning regimen

You will want to keep your child’s teeth clean to avoid tooth decay. Whereas the usual regiment was likely brushing morning and evening, it is now instrumental to brush after every meal and ideally even after snacking. Braces give food even more hiding places, which can lead to plaque build-up, and cavities. In addition, this stuck food can be on display for all to see and lead to bad breath. If you can’t always manage to brush, then we recommend that your child uses kid-friendly mouthwash or is taught to at least drink plenty of water with every meal.

According to Orthodontic Care Georgia, an electric toothbrush is always a good investment. If your child has braces, this can be the perfect time to get them one if they don’t already. Besides, a water pick can be a fun way to assist with keeping their teeth free from debris. Flossing is still crucial with braces, but it is a trickier process than before and will take some practice. You will likely need to use a floss threader similar in theory to a needle and thread.

Eating right

Teaching your children what they can eat and what foods are best to avoid after getting braces can be critical to ensuring that their orthodontic program goes according to plan. When your child first gets their braces fitted, they will probably only want soft foods like scrambled eggs, yogurt or soup; however, the desire and need for pureed foods quickly wears off.

Steer your children away from hard or sticky foods and focus on soft fruits like plums, nectarines, or bananas. If they prefer apples, then cut them up rather than biting into them whole. Even healthy foods, like chunky nuts, hard fruit, or air-popped popcorn, can cause havoc with their orthodontic work and may lead to broken wires and brackets, which will inevitably lead to extra bills and extended time having their braces on.

By taking a bit of additional care with your child’s teeth after they get braces, you will have a more pleasant overall experience. If you do have questions, then remember that your orthodontist is a partner in the process and has plenty of experience teaching children the tricks of the trade.