Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces. Food bits have more spots than usual to hide in your mouth, so you must be diligent in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discolored teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during treatment, you'll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

1. One tooth at a time. When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.

2. It’s all about the angles. Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.

3. The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth. While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.

4. Step 1: eat, step 2: clean. While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact with bacteria in your mouth to cause decay. The longer food is in contact with your teeth, the greater opportunity for plaque to form. If you are eating somewhere that you can’t brush, thoroughly rinse your mouth with water.

5. Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared. The easiest way to be sure you can brush after every meal is to get in the habit of taking a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss with you wherever you go. Designate a special container just for your teeth-cleaning tools and keep it in your purse, backpack, or laptop case.

6. Remove the moving parts. If you have elastic bands or headgear, remove these parts before you brush or floss.

7. Fluoride is your friend. Fluoride helps prevent cavities. Be sure to brush with fluoride toothpaste, and rinse with fluoride mouthwash.

8. Pointy brushes reach tiny places. Interproximal brushes (sometimes called proxa brushes or interdental brushes) are cone-shaped and come in very handy for reaching spots around your braces that standard brushes can’t.

9. Find the floss for you. Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.

10. Make time for the pros. It’s your job to take care of the everyday cleaning. But make sure to visit your dentist regularly while in treatment, to get the deep, thorough cleaning that only a professional can provide. If you need help finding the right Dentist for you, feel free to contact our office - we’d love to help!

Hope this helps!

With spring here, many children, teens and adults will once again pick up the ball, bring the bat out of seasonal retirement, and lace up their cleats to hit the fields for the return of spring sports! You can still play sports even while undergoing orthodontic treatment. If you do play sports, it's recommended that you wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth and your appliances. Let Dr. Waldman know if you need help finding the right mouthguard for the best protection.

April is also National Facial Protection Month, and during this time, we urge our young athletes to play it safe when out on the field. According to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, children, high-school athletes and adults will have more than 5,000,000 teeth knocked out in sporting events this year.

Here are a few ways to ensure your or your child’s mouth’s safety this spring:

1. Wear mouth guards for contact sports such as baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse
2. Wear a helmet
3. Wear protective eyewear
4. Wear a face shield to avoid scratched or bruised skin
5. Be alert, even as a spectator

We hope that helps. Protective gear is vital for anyone engaging in tooth or mouth-threatening activities. If you have any further questions about any of these tips, please contact our office. Stay safe and have fun!

I have been blessed to practice in an era that has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the area of adult orthodontics. It is not uncommon for us to have patients pursue treatment in their retirement years. In fact, we have many grandparents in our practice undergoing orthodontic treatment at the same time as their grandchildren. This certainly represents a significant change from the past, when orthodontics was essentially considered to be a pediatric specialty. Many adults are now encouraged by esthetic alternatives to traditional braces, such as Invisalign, lingual (on the inside) braces, or clear braces.

Many people assume that adults seek orthodontic treatment only to improve the appearance of their teeth and smile, and to improve their professional image. However, there are many other forms of adult orthodontic treatment that have specific health and functional benefits. Here are just a few of the common types of adult orthodontic treatment I routinely perform in my practice:

1) Straightening or uprighting teeth prior to the placement of dental implants.

7) Surgical orthodontic treatment for patients with severe bite problems

If you, or someone you know, are interested in a consultation to assess your adult orthodontic treatment options, please contact our office.

Best Regards,
Dr. Alexander Waldman