Oral Hygiene in Orthodontic Treatment

The holidays are over and I am finally getting back to the regular routine, so I decided to write again. My orthodontic progress is acceptable. I will post pictures after the next aligner. The progress is noticeable to me, but may not show up well in a photo. With a regular patient it would go faster, but I tend to neglect my own treatment, so I don't progress as fast as I could.

I thought it would be a good time to talk about oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment. With traditional braces this is obviously a very difficult task. The brackets and wires catch food, it is difficult to brush around them, and very challenging to floss. Most children and teenagers with braces have gingivitis, sometimes it is severe. Their gums become red, very swollen and bleed easily. Not only are the gums very inflamed, but the plaque build up can lead to cavities around the brackets or in-between the teeth. It also contributes to bad breath.

One of the major advantages of wearing aligners over traditional braces is the fact that the teeth can be cleaned normally. The aligners are removed for eating, brushing and flossing, so orthodontics is not a factor in the patient's gingival health. Many times, people are paying more attention to their hygiene when they are wearing aligners, so the health is improved. Nobody wants to eat and then put the aligners in without brushing, since food will be trapped under the aligner and stay there all day which can be uncomfortable. It can also lead to cavity formation. People will naturally want to clean their teeth before they replace the aligners. So, from an oral hygiene standpoint, orthodontic aligners are much better than traditional metal braces.

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