Braces hygiene products that I recommend everyone have with them traveling, at work, school, and everywhere they go! Maintaining hygiene with braces can be tough, let's go over some tools that can help!
Maintaining excellent oral hygiene during the day can be tough- I'm here to help!
Whether you are at work or at school, it’s tough taking the time after a meal to clean your teeth with braces. It is incredibly important though because the longer food and plaque stays in your mouth, the more time bacteria has to digest it and release acid. This acid results in cavities and those white spots you see on some people’s teeth after braces are removed. Having the right tools that are: 1] efficient and 2] compact will facilitate this process. Below is a kit of all the essentials items that I recommend & I will go through them one by one below.
Must-Have Travel-sized, Hygiene Products!
These tools, coupled with the information in these blog posts will dramatically improve your hygiene during your braces journey and help prevent any discomfort, cavities, gum disease and additional costs!
Why Do I Need Travel-Sized Hygiene Products?
Brushing and flossing twice a day may not be enough while in braces!!
That’s right! Although most dentist, myself included, recommend brushing twice a day for two minutes, this may not be enough while you are undergoing orthodontic treatment. This is because the braces serve as a trap for food, plaque and bacteria which can more easily accumulate around the braces than a smooth tooth surface. Much like what we discussed our eBook, Life with Braces, you want to make sure that you brush all surfaces of the teeth as well as floss in order to reach all the contacts where bacteria may accumulate. When you only brush your teeth, you physically cannot reach or clean 40% of your tooth structure (area between the teeth). To learn more about flossing with braces, be sure to check out my blog post about flossing! Generally these areas are like little caves where bacteria can hide away and live uninterrupted causing tooth decay and gum disease. The longer the bacteria remain there, the stronger they attach to the tooth and the more dangerous they become to your teeth, gums, and underlying bone.
This is why I recommend people in braces brush once or twice throughout the day in order to break up this bacteria from accumulating. The tools that we go over, with the tips that we will discuss, will help you maintain excellent oral hygiene not only in the morning and at night but throughout the day. Also, I will highlight products that are compact and easy to carry around with you. I know it may be difficult to bring your whole electric toothbrush and clunky Waterpik with you to work or school everyday, but these travel-sized products should definitely do the trick on-the-go. I hope you enjoy!
How Soon After Eating Should I Brush my Teeth?
Do not brush and floss your teeth right after brushing
WHAT?! Did I just say that? Yes!! You should not be brushing and flossing your teeth immediately after eating, but about an 30 minutes to 1 hour after you eat. This is because every time you eat or drink something sugary, your mouth becomes more acidic. When this occurs, your enamel layer (the protective, outermost, layer of the tooth) which is made of crystals begins to dissolve, making it softer and easier to be worn away if brushed with an abrasive toothbrush and toothpaste. Good news!! After about 30 minutes to 1 hour, your body re-stabilizes its pH and make it so that your tooth structure is strong enough to not wear away from a toothbrush and you should be ready to begin your oral hygiene routine. The take home message is that you should wait about 30 minutes to one hour after your meals/snacks before starting your oral hygiene routine (this is why I also recommend brushing BEFORE breakfast instead of after!).
Brushes, flossers, and More That I Recommend
There are some absolutely essential items that I recommend everyone have in their on-the-go kit. These include a toothbrush, fluoridated toothpaste, an orthodontic flossing tool (learn more about flossing with braces) and an alcohol-free fluoridated mouth rinse. Although this list is not exhaustive, I believe that it provides you with the basic necessitates which will are both effective and compact for travel. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it is recommended that you floss before brushing, however the last thing you should do in your hygiene routine would be to rinse with mouthwash. What this will do is allow for the fluoride in the mouthwash to stay in your oral cavity and help your teeth remineralize and grow stronger!
I am personally a big fan of the Glide Pro-Health floss. This floss is only lightly coated in wax so it doesn’t have that gross waxy feel but still glides smoothly between your contacts without much force. Also it is really strong & shred resistant which is a big plus
These travel-sized toothpastes are perfect for your kit! Not only are they the perfect size for your bag but they contain all the necessary ingredients to keep your teeth healthy. Fluoride is a must in your toothpaste because it strengthens your enamel making it more resistant to decay / cavities! Be sure to use a pea-sized dollop of toothpaste every time you brush your teeth
One of my favorite! Platypus flossers are a modified version of traditional flossers because one side is flat, like a platypus’ nose. This flat side fits perfectly under the braces wire and allows for you to floss your teeth without having to use a threader. On the other side of the flosser is a little pick similar to the proxabrush that can be used to clean around where the braces connect to your teeth
After you brush and floss your teeth, I like to recommend an alcohol-free, anticavity mouthwash! This not only freshen up your breath and rinses out any residual plaque, but it also strengthens your teeth with fluoride! Be sure to not rinse your mouth with water after the mouthwash so that you don’t waste all the beneficial ingredients. Also, you want to make sure your mouthwash is alcohol-free so that it does not dry out your mouth!
Miscellaneous Tools for Travel-sized Kit
There tools are not critical in maintaining your oral hygiene on-the-go but they are super useful to keep in your travel kit. These products are excellent adjuncts to help putting on your rubber bands as well as decreasing any discomfort you may have with the braces rubbing against your cheek or lips!
These are definitely a helpful tool to keep in your kit! After your teeth and mouth are all clean, you want to make sure that you remember to replace our elastics (if your doctor is prescribing them at this point). These tools are helpful in place your rubber bands in hard-to-reach places ! I recommend keeping one of these in your elastics baggie at all times.
This is an absolute must if you’re early on in your orthodontic treatment. It takes your mouth some time to get used to these new appliances and during that time, your lips and tongue can get irritated from the the braces. As the last part of your hygiene routine, I recommend drying your teeth and placing a little ball of wax on any area where your braces are irritating your mouth!
Don't have the right tools? Don't worry! I've got you covered. After searching for the best deals of all the products I recommend on Amazon, I have compiled a store for your convenience!
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