If your child has just gotten braces, chances are it’s a good time to brush up on dental hygiene! Why now? What’s different? And how can you help? Let’s take a few minutes and explore these timely questions.

Brushing and Flossing Are Especially Important with Braces

There’s no getting around it, it’s harder to clean teeth with brackets and wires. But it’s essential to pay attention to dental hygiene. When bacteria and plaque start building up, your child is at risk for gum disease, cavities, and tooth discoloration.

• Gingivitis

This early stage of gum disease is the result of gum irritation caused by plaque. The gums become red, swollen, sore, and can bleed or start to recede. With proper brushing and flossing, gingivitis can be eliminated, along with the risk of developing more serious gum disease.

• Tooth Decay

One of the major reasons for cavities is the erosion of enamel caused by oral bacteria. These bacteria feed on sugars from our diet and produce acids that attack the tooth’s surface. Plaque, formed by a mass of these bacteria, sticks around brackets and the gum line, putting your child at risk for cavities near his orthodontic work—which might require removing wires and brackets to treat.

• Demineralization

When acids attack teeth, they remove the minerals from our enamel. This demineralization eventually leads to cavities, but in its early stages can cause white spots to appear where the mineral structure has been weakened. Braces wearers are at special risk for demineralization, especially around brackets and near the gums, where plaque can be missed while brushing.

Time for New Brushing and Flossing Techniques

Even if your child has always done a wonderful job of brushing and flossing, braces provide a new challenge for getting teeth their cleanest. Unfortunately, plaque buildup around the brackets and the gum line is all too common in orthodontic patients. Drs. Cartsos and Zavras can recommend some tools that make the cleaning process easier and more effective.

• Toothbrushes

Manual brushes are available with small, soft-bristled heads designed especially for braces wearers. If your child still has problems getting rid of plaque and food debris, an electric toothbrush might be helpful. And remember, encourage your child to be thorough but gentle for the sake of both braces and gums.

• Flossing with Braces

Flossing can be challenging for children at any time, but especially with braces. We’ll show you how floss threaders work, and how special flosses designed just for braces can fit under wires. This might also be a good time to invest in a water flosser. Your help demonstrating how to floss even with brackets and wires blocking the way will be appreciated by your child and your dentist!

• Products Just for Braces

Interproximal brushes are tiny cone-shaped brushes designed to fit around brackets and wires and between teeth. We can also suggest special toothpastes and rinses to help fight plaque and prevent cavities from developing. Ask us about what to shop for to make both of your lives easier.

You Can Help!

• Teamwork—Works!

When your child first gets braces, practice brushing and flossing together. Our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts team will be happy to show you both the very best techniques for keeping teeth their cleanest and healthiest. Especially for young children, your help will make sure those techniques are learned and used.

• Make Time for Cleaning

Your child’s before-braces routine might have meant brushing two minutes each morning and two minutes at night. But thorough cleaning around brackets and wires might take a bit longer. (And, with braces, it’s best to brush after every meal rather than the common twice-a-day routine). Be available, at least at first, for a quick check to make sure braces and teeth are their cleanest. And you may have to help with removing and replacing bands until your child gets the hang of it.

• Be Prepared!

Whether it’s a day at school or an overnighter with friends, be sure your child has a kit filled with cleaning supplies ready to take along. A toothbrush, floss, an interproximal brush, toothpaste, a mirror—with these necessities, your child can keep on top of any cleaning emergencies.

For younger children especially, learning how to keep teeth and braces their cleanest can take some time. Be patient, be prepared, and be willing to help, and you and your child will have a new routine mastered—in no time at all!

At Convivial Dental, we proudly treat adults, teens, and children; no matter what your age, we believe you deserve a great smile. Our warm and welcoming team is known for their for their exceptional orthodontic skills. Drs. Cartsos and Zavras and our talented team have been creating beautiful smiles for years, and today would like to ask: what do you love about your new smile? How has your smile improved your life?

Whether you’ve just come in for an initial orthodontic consultation with Drs. Cartsos and Zavras or your family has been visiting office for years, we would love to hear your thoughts about your treatment. In fact, we encourage you to leave a few words for us below or on our Facebook page!

We look forward to reading your feedback!

A new baby! What a joyful, exciting time! Joy, excitement, and lots of questions about the best ways to keep your child healthy and happy. So, we have some suggestions to help start your baby on the path to a lifetime of healthy, happy smiles.

• Before Those First Baby Teeth Appear

After each bottle or breast feeding, it’s a good idea to wipe your baby’s gums with a clean, damp washcloth or gauze pad wrapped around one of your fingers.

This gentle cleaning helps wipe away food and bacteria that can irritate the gums as the teeth start to erupt and helps prepare your child for brushing once those little teeth have arrived.

• Cleaning Your Baby’s Teeth

Most babies start getting their first teeth around the age of six months. And those first teeth mean it’s time for a first toothbrush!

Choose a brush specifically for babies. These brushes are designed to fit tiny mouths to prevent gagging. They have soft bristles to protect tooth enamel and gums. They have handles that are easy for you to maneuver. There are even silicone finger brushes available which fit over your finger and use a textured surface to brush away bacteria and food particles.

Ask Drs. Cartsos and Zavras about the right time to start using toothpaste. When your baby is old enough for toothpaste, it’s important to choose the right one, which means a toothpaste formulated for infants. It’s also important to use the right amount of toothpaste. A smear of toothpaste no bigger than a grain of rice grain is enough for early brushing.

Brushing twice a day, morning and night, is the normal recommendation unless your pediatric dentist has other advice. We’re also a great source of information on how to make brushing time easier and more enjoyable for both you and your baby!

• Bottles and Baby Teeth

Cavities begin forming because oral bacteria create acids which erode enamel, the protective outer coating of the tooth. Cavity-causing bacteria love to feed on sugar. Baby formula and even breast milk contain carbohydrates in the form of sugars—which is a good thing!

Carbohydrates are essential for babies’ growth and development. Lactose, the sugar found in breast milk, is a carb which is easy for your baby to digest, and which supports healthy bacteria in the digestive system. Formulas with lactose and other types of sugars also provide your baby with these necessary, easily digestible carbohydrates.

But going to sleep with a bottle or while breastfeeding means those healthy sugars aren’t all digested. Instead, liquid pools in the mouth, bathing those beautiful new teeth in sugars over night. This can lead to a condition called “baby bottle tooth decay,” which is especially damaging to the upper front teeth. (And the chance of cavities is even greater if your child’s bottle contains juice or other sugared drinks.)

That’s why dentists recommend making sure a baby’s finished with breastfeeding or bottle before going to sleep to help prevent cavities and decay.

Baby teeth are important. They help in speech development. They allow your child to eat and chew properly when it’s time for solid foods. They hold places for permanent teeth so the adult teeth erupt where they’re supposed to. All very good reasons to finish feeding baby before bedtime!

• Making New Friends

When your baby has those first teeth, and certainly by the age of 12 months, it’s time to add some new friends to your baby’s life with a first visit to our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts pediatric dental office.

Pediatric dentists have specialized training in caring for children’s teeth. They can assess tooth and bite development. They are experts in treating decay and injuries in primary teeth. They can advise parents on any potential problems with pacifier or thumb sucking habits. And they know how to make sure children are comfortable in a child-friendly environment.

That first checkup will allow Drs. Cartsos and Zavras to make sure your baby’s dental development is on schedule. There will be an exam to check those tiny teeth for enamel erosion or cavities. And you dentist will have great advice for proactive dental care, for diet, and for tips on how to brush most effectively.

These early visits are also a chance for your child to become accustomed to visiting the dentist regularly. Your pediatric dentist and staff are experts at creating a dental home, with welcoming, child-oriented dental care which provides comforting continuity from infancy through the teenage years. Look after your baby’s teeth right from the start, and you can look forward to seeing your baby grow up with a healthy and happy smile!

Your bright smile means you’re happy, and it’s catching! Sharing your smile makes the people around you happy, too! And you can make sure your smile is as bright as it can be by keeping your teeth their cleanest.

Nobody wants food stuck in between their teeth, but cleaning your teeth doesn’t just mean brushing away any leftover bits of food. It also means brushing away the sticky plaque that builds up on your teeth every day. Germs in plaque called bacteria help make cavities, so it’s extra important to brush and floss away all the plaque you can.

When you were younger, a grown-up cleaned your teeth for you. Now that you’re ready to begin brushing and flossing on your own (with some adult help, of course), here are some good habits to start you off right.

Brush the Right Way

• Brush a tooth or two at a time with small brushstrokes and circles. Long back-and-forth brushstrokes miss a lot of plaque. Make sure you brush all the different sides of your teeth, not just the ones which show when you smile. Brush on the inside of your teeth and the tops of your molars (those big teeth in back). Use up-and-down strokes to clean behind your front teeth.
• Tip your toothbrush toward your gums while you brush along the gum line to get the plaque that likes to hide there.
• Don’t scrub your teeth. The tooth enamel that covers and protects our teeth is very strong, but brushing too hard can hurt it. Gentle brushing works!
• And don’t forget to gently brush your tongue for fresh breath.

Take Your Time

• You can’t keep your teeth their cleanest if you don’t spend enough time brushing them! That’s why dentists say it’s best to brush at least twice each day, for two minutes each time you brush.
• It’s hard to guess how long two minutes is, so use a little timer to keep track of the time. If you like music, play a song that lasts two minutes. Or ask a grown-up to time you—and maybe even brush with you!

Use the Right Toothbrush

• You want a brush that is just the right shape and size. A brush which is too big is hard to use—and hard to fit inside your mouth.
• You want a brush with soft bristles. Medium and hard bristles are too hard, and can scrape your enamel and gums. Stay with soft bristles, and your teeth and gums will be healthy and happy.
• Toothbrushes don’t last a very long time because their bristles start to break down after a while. After all, it’s hard work cleaning teeth twice a day every day! So it’s a good idea to change your toothbrush every three or four months, or whenever the bristles start to look a bit scruffy.

Use the Right Toothpaste

• Fluoride toothpaste helps protect your teeth from cavities and makes your enamel even stronger than it already is. There are plenty of fun-flavored fluoride (say that three times fast!) toothpastes to choose from.
• You don’t need too much. Once you’re brushing on your own, a small dab about the size of a pea will do the trick.
• Be sure to spit out the toothpaste after brushing. It’s for cleaning, not swallowing!

Don’t Forget to Floss

• Once you have any teeth that touch each other, you need to floss between them at least once a day. Flossing is the best way to get rid of the plaque that hides between your teeth where your brush just can’t reach.
• Flossing can be a little tricky at first, so you might need some help until you’re able to floss on your own. Drs. Cartsos and Zavras can teach you the best way to floss, and a grown-up at home can help you until you’re ready to floss by yourself.
• There are lots of different kinds of floss. If you’re having trouble flossing, ask our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts dental team which kind is best for you.

Every smile is different, and yours is one of a kind. If you have any questions, talk to your pediatric dentist. Dentists don’t just take care of your teeth—they teach you to take care of your teeth, too! Your dentist can show you the very best way to keep your very own smile as bright and healthy as it can be.