Oral Hygiene Instructions
How to keep your teeth and gums healthy throughout your orthodontic treatment
Hygiene Is Just as Important as Your Treatment
Braces and aligners create more surfaces for plaque to hide. Patients who keep up with their hygiene finish treatment with healthy, beautiful smiles. Those who do not risk cavities, gum disease, and permanent white staining around their brackets.
The good news: with the right technique and the right tools, keeping clean with braces takes only a few extra minutes a day.
Your Hygiene Toolkit
Everything you need for clean teeth during treatment
Soft-bristled toothbrush
Remove your retainer before eating or drinkin
Fluoride toothpaste
Any regular fluoride toothpaste works well
Floss threaders or orthodontic flossers
For threading under the archwire
Water flosser
Optional but highly recommended
Proxy brushes
Small interproximal brushes for tight spaces
Fluoride rinse
A fluoride mouthwash adds extra cavity protection
How to Brush with Braces
Brush for at least 2 minutes, 3 times a day — after every meal
1
Start with a rinse
Rinse your mouth with water to loosen food particles around brackets and wires before you begin brushing.
2
Brush at a 45° angle above the bracket
Position your brush at a 45-degree angle pointing toward the gum line. Gently scrub in small circular motions along the top of each bracket — this cleans where gum meets tooth.
3
Brush below the bracket
Reposition the brush to angle downward (toward the bracket from below). Scrub in small circles along the bottom edge of each bracket and the wire.
4
Brush the bracket face directly
Brush straight on across the front face of each bracket to remove plaque from the flat surface.
5
Clean the chewing and tongue surfaces
Brush the tops of your back teeth and the inner (tongue-side) surfaces of all teeth — these areas are easy to miss but just as important.
6
Rinse and check
Rinse thoroughly and look in the mirror. Brackets should look shiny and clean, not foggy or coated. If you see white spots forming around brackets, you are not cleaning well enough — contact us.
Electric toothbrushes are highly recommended. They are more effective at removing plaque around brackets and require less technique than manual brushing. Any oscillating or sonic brush works well.
How to Floss with Braces
Flossing requires threading under the archwire — but several tools make it easy
Floss Threader
The classic method. Thread regular dental floss through the loop of a floss threader, then guide the threader under the archwire between two teeth. Slide the floss up and down against each tooth surface in a C-shape. Repeat for every space.
Best for
Budget-friendly, works with any floss, thorough when done consistently.
Orthodontic Flossers
Pre-threaded plastic floss picks with a stiffer end designed to thread under the archwire easily. No threading required — just slide the stiff end under the wire and use the floss to clean between teeth.
Best for
Faster than a threader, great for kids or anyone who finds threading difficult.
Water Flosser (Waterpik)
Utilizes a pulsating stream of pressurized water to remove plaque and food debris from areas around orthodontic appliances and along the gingival margin. Recommended as a daily supplement to brushing and flossing.
Best for
Great for rinsing around brackets and under wires; easy and effective as a daily addition.
Proxy Brushes
Tiny Christmas-tree-shaped brushes that slide between teeth and under archwires. Excellent for cleaning around individual brackets and along the gumline in areas where floss is hard to maneuver.
Best for
Perfect for between-bracket cleaning; ideal as part of a multi-tool hygiene routine.
Floss at least once a day — ideally before bed. It only takes a few extra minutes and dramatically reduces your risk of cavities between teeth and gum disease around brackets.
Hygiene for Invisalign Patients
Invisalign make oral hygiene significantly easier — you simply remove them to brush and floss normally. However, there are a few habits specific to aligner treatment that matter.
Warning Signs to Watch For
These are signs that hygiene needs improvement — catch them early
White spots around brackets
Chalky white patches near your brackets can signal early enamel damage from plaque buildup.
Red, puffy, or bleeding gums
Gum inflammation (gingivitis) caused by plaque buildup near the gumline. Improve your gumline brushing technique and your gums will usually recover within a week or two of better hygiene.
Bad breath that does not go away
A sign of trapped food and bacteria around your brackets and wires. Improve your rinsing and flossing routine and the issue should resolve quickly.
Brown staining around brackets
Tartar (calcified plaque) buildup that your toothbrush cannot remove. Only a professional cleaning can remove tartar — see your general dentist as soon as possible.
Keep Seeing Your General Dentist
Orthodontic treatment is not a substitute for regular dental checkups and cleanings. We strongly recommend continuing to see your general dentist every 6 months throughout your treatment. Professional cleanings remove tartar that brushing and flossing cannot, and your dentist will monitor for any cavity or gum concerns.
Questions About Caring for Your Smile?
Our team is always happy to review brushing and flossing technique at any appointment