It's not enough with a brush, dental floss is a must-have for stirrup users

In fact, using a stirrup makes you have to be more diligent in cleaning your teeth. In fact, it is not enough for users to clean their teeth with just a toothbrush. Yes, maybe you find it more difficult to brush your teeth after using the stirrup. Therefore, you must be ready to floss so that your mouth and teeth are clean.

The importance of dental floss for stirrup users

Cleaning your teeth while you are using braces is very obligatory. Because, the risk of accumulating plaque and dirt will be easier when you use braces than not. So that, to make it even cleaner you need dental floss.

Isn't brushing your teeth enough? Of course not, even braces users really need dental floss to keep their gums and teeth clean.

Dental floss is created to clean dirt between the teeth, which is hard to reach by a toothbrush. Especially when you use braces, some areas become more difficult to clean with a toothbrush, right? Well, dental floss can help.

Therefore, people with braces need to floss at least once a day.

Although the use of dental floss takes more time, this technique is very important for cleaning between people's teeth with braces.

How do you use dental floss?

Source: Kaplan Orthodontics

The flossing technique is very important for cleaning food and plaque between the teeth. Every day, you should clean your teeth for 10-15 minutes, from brushing your teeth and also adding the use of dental floss.

• Cut a piece of thread about 40 cm
• Thread floss between your braces and teeth. It's a good idea to floss in front of a mirror so that you can see exactly where the floss goes
• Hook the end of the dental floss on your index finger
• Gently thread the dental floss behind the stirrup and slide it between the teeth. Slide the thread up and down. Make sure you move the dental floss between the one and the other teeth, and between the gums and the teeth.
• Then, gently remove the thread from under the wire. Don't pull it straight away, be careful it gets caught in the braces.
• Move on to the next gear that you want to clean. As much as possible do not pull the stirrup with twine. Pay attention to the location of the thread that you have inserted, then press and slide it to clean the teeth.
• Make sure you run the floss on each side of your teeth so that they are all free of debris that cannot be reached by a toothbrush.
• Then rinse your mouth to rinse your cleaned teeth.

Cleaning your teeth by flossing is allowed every day, to prevent plaque buildup in the mouth. Dental floss also cannot be replaced in other ways, such as mouthwash. Both clean teeth and mouth in different ways.

Also, don't let your gums bleed while flossing, if it is bleeding it means your movement was too hard.

Other tips and tricks for stirrup users

Apart from dental floss, you also have to pay attention to the following:

Routinely have your teeth checked by a doctor

Clean your teeth regularly at home and always come to the dentist to change rubber and clean your teeth on a regular schedule. Going to the dentist is very important because at the doctor, your teeth can be cleaned more optimally.

Brush your teeth the right way

Ideally, use a special toothbrush that uses braces, or you can also use an electric toothbrush. Choose a toothbrush with soft bristles.

Last but not least, how you brush should also be considered. Brush your teeth in a circular motion on each stirrup. This circular motion is done in front of the stirrup, from the area above the stirrup, and from the area below the stirrup.

If you can't brush your teeth after eating, rinse your mouth to get rid of any stuck-up food residue.

In addition, you can also use a small toothbrush (interdental brush) to remove the remaining dirt that is still stuck.

Cut down on sugary foods and hard and sticky textures

Sweet foods easily trigger plaque formation and tooth decay. If the teeth with your braces are filled with plaque it will be even more difficult to clean. So, you should, prevent it by reducing sugary foods.

Also cut down on sticky sugary foods like candy, as these can stick and tug at the stirrup wire. Likewise with foods with hard textures, you should reduce hard-textured foods because they can damage parts of your braces or can make the wires come off easily.