When you start wearing braces, it can become a challenge to clean certain areas of your mouth. If these areas are neglected for long periods of time, though, decay and stains can form on your teeth.

Your mouth will require extra attention while you have your braces on. This can include using a special toothbrush to reach those spots, flossing every day, getting fluoride treatments, avoiding certain foods, and making sure to visit your dentist. Let’s take a closer look at what you can do to prevent decay during treatment.

When you get your braces on, Drs. Cartsos and Zavras will give you an interdental toothbrush that can be used to get to those hard-to-reach spots in your mouth. The brush has bristles that can easily remove food residue stuck between the wires in your mouth. We may also suggest using a WaterPik, which pulses a pressurized stream of water to remove excess food particles.

Brushing and flossing every day should always be a part of your oral health regimen, but this becomes especially crucial when you have braces. If food gets stuck between braces and sits on your teeth, decay and staining will start to occur. Drs. Cartsos and Zavras and our team recommend flossing at least once a day, and brushing and using mouthwash after every meal as long as you have braces.

If you don’t have the time, make sure at least to swish your mouth really well with water after you eat. It’s especially important to follow these steps after consuming sugary foods or beverages. It’s best to avoid sweets altogether when you have braces.

Making sure to visit your dentist at least twice a year for a routine cleaning can also help to prevent any decay from damaging your teeth while your teeth are encased in braces. Your dentist will remove any plaque or tartar that’s built up since your last cleaning.

Prevention is key when it comes to keeping your mouth healthy during orthodontic care with braces. Follow these tips and you’ll keep your teeth beautiful and healthy for the day your new smile is finally revealed!

Here is some surprising yet worthwhile advice you might be hearing for the first time: Brushing can be incredibly bad for your child’s teeth if done right after eating certain foods.

Enamel is an extremely hard mineral on the exterior of each tooth. It’s actually the hardest substance in the human body: It’s even stronger than bones! Its only weakness is that acids in the food we eat can easily destroy enamel.

Healthy teeth thrive in an environment that has the proper pH balance. That ensures the mouth doesn’t start the process of demineralization—the process when alkaline turns into acid, which attacks and softens the enamel on the surface of your child’s teeth. Pores and fissures form, and that’s when the harmful bacteria go to work.

A mouth’s pH level fluctuates depending on what is eaten throughout the day. Examples of the most common highly acidic foods include citrus fruits, soda, and sugary foods. Highly acidic foods tip the balance of pH in the mouth from a healthy alkaline to a dangerous acid.

Can brushing your child’s teeth immediately after a meal lead to even more damage? The answer is yes!

Eating highly acidic foods causes your child’s teeth to be more susceptible. If your child brushes when the teeth have been weakened by acids, even more destruction can happen to the enamel. Your child’s toothbrush bristles will actually wear away some of the enamel. So it’s healthier for your child to wait at least an hour after eating or snacking to brush.

Good preventive measures to take instead of brushing after your child eats include:

• Rinsing or drinking water
• Chewing sugarless gum
• Consuming dairy or non-acidic foods to conclude a meal

These practices help produce saliva, which in turn restores a healthy pH level in your child’s mouth and coats the teeth with minerals they need.

Once your child’s mouth is restored to a healthy pH level, he or she may brush normally. Keep in mind that acidic foods can weaken the enamel on the teeth and take the right measures to prevent spiking pH levels.

Still have questions? Call our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts office and schedule an appointment for your child with Drs. Cartsos and Zavras.

Good things come to those who wait. And a beautiful, healthy smile is something worth waiting for! But if there were some way to make the orthodontic process work more quickly, that would be even better. If making your orthodontic treatment more efficient is something that might interest you, talk to us when you visit our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts office, and we’ll explain how you might be able to shorten your time in braces or aligners by using AcceleDent.

How Does Orthodontic Treatment Move Your Teeth?

Our bone cells are really doing a lot of the work! Normally, the bone tissue in our jaws holds our teeth in place very securely. As pressure is put on the teeth through braces or aligners, two things happen: tissue on one side of the tooth stretches, and tissue on the other side of the tooth compresses. Our bones react to these gradual changes by creating more bone cells where the stretching occurs, and maintaining fewer on the other side. Eventually, the bone around our teeth will reshape to create an even, attractive smile and to firmly maintain the teeth in their new positions.

How Can AcceleDent Speed Up this Process?

AcceleDent is an orthodontic device designed to increase the activity of the cells that are remodeling the bone surrounding each tooth. The AcceleDent appliance provides gentle and precise vibrations with a patented process called SoftPulseTechnology®.  When you activate the appliance, these vibrations, called micropulses, travel through the roots of the teeth into the surrounding bone. The micropulses stimulate cellular activity in the bones, leading to a faster remodeling of the bone structure and faster tooth movement.

To make things even easier for you, the third generation of AcceleDent technology, the AcceleDent Optima™, can be linked to the AcceleDent App. You can monitor your progress on the dashboard, discover motivational tools, and even share connections with family, friends and your treatment team.

If you are interested in making your best smile happen—and happen more quickly— talk to Drs. Cartsos and Zavras about how much time AcceleDent might save in your personal treatment plan. Good things come to those who wait, but a good thing that comes a bit sooner than expected? Even better!

These days it's becoming more and more common to see adults at our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts office getting their teeth straightened with Invisalign clear aligners — that is, if you can see them! Treatment with Invisalign is effective and aesthetically pleasing for all ages, but adults have certainly taken to them.

For some it may be to overcome the stigma that "braces are just for kids," but for others it may be the displeasing appearance and discomfort of traditional braces. According to the American Association of Orthodontics, from 1994 to 2010 the number of adults 18 and older getting braces increased by 58 percent, from 680,000 to 1.1 million annually. Many of these adults opt for Invisalign because of how discreet they are and since they don't need to avoid any foods or make dietary changes like you do with traditional braces.

The benefits of getting your teeth into proper alignment are many, and so are the advantages of Invisalign. By following your individual course of Invisalign treatment, you can expect to enjoy the following benefits over traditional braces:

• The total treatment time is more precise with Invisalign since your treatment is modeled by a computer, as compared to traditional braces where it is really just an estimate.
• You'll need to make fewer trips to our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts office since you can change your trays on your own every few weeks or as prescribed.
• There's less risk to the health of your tooth enamel since there is no need to place brackets on your teeth.
• Invisalign aligners are clear and practically invisible, so most people won't even know you're wearing them!

If you're interested in Invisalign treatment, please let Drs. Cartsos and Zavras know. We'd be happy to help you on your journey to a straighter, healthier smile!