Brushing with Traditional Braces

If you have braces, you should be working overtime on practicing proper oral hygiene. This is because braces have tiny spaces where food particles and plaque get trapped, and inadequate cleaning while wearing these wires can cause enamel staining and tooth decay around brackets or bands. Dr. Nick Mobilia of Elite Dental Arts can’t stand behind you to monitor how you often you brush, but he can provide you with the following routine that will help make brushing with traditional braces both simple and effective.

• Prepare to brush – take off elastics, and any other removable parts of your orthodontic appliance.


• Clean your braces – use your brush at a 45-degree angle to clean around the wires and pins of your braces. Brush the top of each wire and then from the bottom. Take time to ensure that all plaque and debris are removed.


• Brush your teeth – clean each tooth individually. First, place your brush at a 45-degree angle to the junction between the tooth and the gum, and then apply gentle pressure as you move in a circular motion. Use the same brushing action on all outer and inner tooth surfaces, tilting the brush as needed to better reach the insides of smaller front teeth.

If you have questions about orthodontic oral care, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.elitedentalarts.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Nick Mobilia of Elite Dental Arts here in New York, NY, call our office at 212-681-0939.



Nick M. Mobilia, DDS
ELITE  DENTAL ARTS
9 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Flossing with Traditional Braces

As Dr. Nick Mobilia, DDS at Elite Dental Arts will tell you, flossing can be difficult when you have traditional metal braces, but it’s more important than ever to keep the gaps in your teeth clean when you have a mouth full of metal. Many folks who have braces don’t know how to floss with them or think that they can’t floss at all if they have braces and this is not true. Therefore, here are some tips for flossing effectively and keeping those brackets and wires clean.

• Use waxed floss, because unwaxed floss is more likely to get caught and shred in your braces.


• Use about 18 inches of floss and thread it carefully.


• Take the floss and gently thread it under the main wire of the braces before passing it between two teeth. Then remove the floss and re-thread it under the main wire to pass between the next pair of teeth.


• Be sure not to snap the floss. Simply move the floss up and down carefully against the side of each tooth.

If you have questions about orthodontic oral care, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.elitedentalarts.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Nick Mobilia, DDS of Elite Dental Arts here in New York, NY, call our office at 212-681-0939.


Nick M. Mobilia, DDS
ELITE  DENTAL ARTS
9 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
(212) 681-0939
drmobilia@EliteDentalArts.com
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