by Having a white, Hollywood smile is a dream come true. Fortunately, today you can achieve it much easier than before – thanks to the advanced dental medicine and different types of dentistry orthodontics. These dental appliances can help in any treatment plan for the teeth including repairing of damaged teeth, straightening of crooked teeth and replacing missing teeth. They are even prescribed for sleep apnea, for snoring and for whitening the teeth. It is needless to say that taking care of them is vital for the oral hygiene and health of the whole mouth.
Therefore, one must abide by the rules for flawless hygiene if they want to achieve the result they are aiming for with their dental appliances. You can get such advice from the dentist or, you can get deeper into the subject by exploring what you must and mustn’t do when it comes to keeping the dental appliance clean and sterile. For that purpose, here is a list of the most important rules you can follow.
1. Brush After Every Meal
The dental appliances can be removable or permanent. In case you have a permanent one installed in your mouth (for example, braces) you need to brush the teeth after every meal for at least two minutes. You need to take special care of every tooth, brush gently around every part of the appliance and make sure there are no leftover food particles stuck anywhere. This way you can protect the health of your teeth and don’t cause damage to the braces.
2. Use Cleaning Tools
If your dental appliance is removable, you must use special tools for cleaning. For example you can use a sonic/ultrasonic denture or retainer cleaner or use tablets for cleaning like the Retainer Brite ones, for example. In this way you will make sure that the build-up bacteria, plaque and tartar are safely removed from the dental appliance. Not only these tools clean the dental appliance but also they keep it bright and in the original new condition. Regardless of the type you are using (clear or wire retainers, clear aligners, sports mouth guards or night guards, bruxism appliances or dentures) the retainer brite products will keep it clear, fresh and free of buildup.
3. Swishing a LOT of Water / Mouth
Swishing water in the mouth when wearing a dental appliance will help you remove debris stuck in-between the teeth. To make sure you are getting rid of the bacteria as well, you should use a mouthwash as it takes the benefits to another level. Namely, your breath will be fresher, no plaque or tartar will be building up and it will help you with canker sores.
One important note, though, you mustn’t use mouthwash if you are using a retainer because it might damage it. You should use cleaning products that are appropriate for the hygiene of retainers like the retainer brite products mentioned above.
4. Never Boil the Retainer
You might get advice to perfectly clean your retainer to boil it – as it is known that boiling water will kill off any bacteria or germs build-up on the retainer. That is terrible advice. If you boil it or pour boiling water over it, the retainer might change its shape and become useless. This will take out money from your pockets as you won’t be able to use the deformed retainer.
5. Don’t Use a Liquid Soap or Dish Detergent
Naturally, if you are not allowed to boil your dental appliance or use mouthwash, you shouldn’t even consider using a liquid soap or dish detergent to clean it. These products have strong chemicals in their formula and are usually abrasive. You might think that you are doing a good job cleaning it when the result is squeaky clean denture, however, you will surely damage it especially if you do it continually. Plus, consider the possibility that some of the formula will get stuck on the retainer parts and it will end up in your mouth. That is even scarier.
6. No Bleach!
For many people bleaching is the right way to kill off bacteria. However, bleach will break down the materials of which the dental appliance is made. It will whiten the colored areas that mimic real gum tissue and what is the point of wearing denture that has white teeth but with white gums as well?
To sum up
Taking care of your dental appliances is key to keeping them in perfectly good condition from day one. Doing it in a right way will ensure that you can enjoy the benefits for a long time until your teeth are repaired the way you like them to be.
