Dental brace is a device that supports the teeth. It is worn to help shape malformed jaws and teeth. As long as the individual wears it, mouth functions like chewing and talking are conditioned to align the teeth appropriately thereby correcting flaws like crooked teeth, crowded teeth, overbites or under bites.
Dental braces were developed far back as the 19th century and have since then evolved to become popular in recent years. It is used by orthodontist to treat adult and children with teeth and jaw alignment problems.
When Do We Need Braces?
The best time to wear braces is during the ages of 7-14 soon as a problem is detected. This is because such years is still the formation years when the bones, jaws, teeth and tissue are still growing and are more likely to adjust; although adults can also wear them temporarily to adjust minor teeth problems.
They are different kinds of braces to choose from based on your dentist recommendation.
- Traditional braces.
- Ceramic braces.
- Damon braces.
- Removable aligners.
- Palatal expanders.
Likely Problems That Arises With the Use of Brace
Wearing a dental brace requires consistent cleaning and maintenance from you if not; disease such as gingivitis and decalcification may come knocking. What are these diseases?
Gingivitis: When your gums become swollen, tender and bleed easily, then you might be suffering from this disease. It is caused by a poor dental health that arises from failing to brush or floss your teeth regularly. Plaques; which are harmful bacteria that form due to the interaction of residual food particles and bacteria in your saliva; turns into tartar and attack your gum line (Gingiva) causing them to become red and highly irritable.When you fail to detect and treat gingivitis quickly, it becomes dangerous and spreads to other tissues in your teeth and can lead to Periodontitis which may cause you to lose a tooth.
Decalcification: Ever notice individuals with teeth that have white patches or spots? If you think it is a conscious effort to beautify the teeth, then you are wrong. Those white patches or lesions may arise as an aftermath of using a dental brace, especially if such individual had not practiced a proper dental hygiene while wearing one. Decalcification is a loss of calcium in the teeth. While wearing a dental brace, areas inside are protected but those areas around the dental brace are not. And if they are not well cleaned, it may lead to the formation of plaques that convert carbohydrate and sugar into acids. The acid causes the leaching of minerals from the enamel and formation of white lesions.There are other causes of decalcification like over bleaching of the teeth in a bid to make them whiter, excessive use of fluoride, interruptions during enamel development and so on.
Read This Also: Water Flossing Vs String Flossing
What Solution To Dental Problem Can You Practice?
- Eat more calcium rich food like cheese and milk. This would help increase the calcium in your body and help to prevent decalcification of your teeth.
- Avoid sugar foods. Bacteria in dental plaque derive their energy from sugar. They convert it to acids that are both dangerous to your gums and teeth. Avoiding too much sugar intake would therefore cause a decrease in their metabolism.
- Maintain oral hygiene by brushing and flossing regularly: Noticeably, the major cause of dental disease is a poor dental hygiene. It is not only important to brush regularly; flossing regularly is just as important. You can either use string or water flosser to floss your teeth and braces. An example of a water flosser is the Waterpik flosser.
How Waterpik Can Be Helpful For Brace Wearers?
Waterpik flosser uses high-pressure water to remove plaques, trapped food particle and debris from the teeth and braces. It is a flossing brand manufactured to use the force of water for flossing and has widely been accepted by dentist as an easier method of flossing. It has also been proven to be three times more effective as traditional flosser.
- Waterpik flosser is easy to use for children and adult alike
- It massages you gum while you floss
- Because it uses water, wounding your gum while flossing is not likely to happen as in dental flossing.
- It effectively removes plaques and food particles around the braces and your teeth
- It comes with different tips. The orthodontic tip is specially designed with tapered brush to aid complete removal of plaques stuck to your braces and teeth.
Wearing braces is important to correct deformed teeth or to generally improve teeth alignment and rock a better smile. The use of brace calls for regular dental hygiene if you do not want gum disease like gingivitis and decalcification to occur. Brushing alone can’t solve this problem, you also need to floss. Waterpik flosser has been recommended for that purpose to its numerous advantages. It is left for you to practice good dental hygiene by getting a Waterpik appliance for your braces.