Braces are great for your teeth in the long term, correcting crowding and spacing issues and preventing future health issues like infections. In the short term, they create a few inconveniences, such as placing a wire over the space between teeth that gets in the way of flossing.
Placing the floss under the wire is like threading a needle, and just like threading a needle people have come up with simple tools to make the process easier. Floss threaders are cheap and can be found online or in a pharmacy, and they are also helpful for people who want to floss with bridges and dental implants.
The floss threader is a stiff loop that you insert where you intend to floss. You place one end of the dental floss into that loop and then pull the floss threader through. That’s it, you now have your floss located where you need it.
Use Waxed Floss to Keep it Together
It’s easy to shred unwaxed dental floss with braces. Waxed dental floss does a much better job of staying intact when it contacts the metal brackets.
With the constant threading and rethreading, expect to take twice as long flossing with braces. Put on some music or even a short podcast episode, because this is important and you don’t want to rush it.
Contact us!
Want more advice on keeping your teeth clean while you have braces? You can reach our Friendly Dental of Worcester office at (508) 791-4000, Unique Dental of Worcester office at (508) 753-5488, Taunton Dental Center office at (508) 822-1281, or Uxbridge Family Dental office at (508) 278-2015.
