What Dental Care is Like After Getting Braces Off

When your child completes their braces treatment, their dental care remains an important aspect of their health. It’s still vital that they take care of their teeth. Braces can straighten your teeth, but they can’t keep them clean and free of cavities. These are a few of the differences in what dental care is like after finishing braces treatment.

Brushing is Easier

Now that you no longer have wires and brackets attached to your teeth, brushing has become a lot easier. When you have braces, it takes a lot of extra maneuvering to clean around the machinery in your mouth. You also need to brush after every meal when you have braces to avoid any food residue getting caught between wires and brackets. When these come off your teeth, brushing your teeth becomes a much more simple process. Instead of brushing after every meal, and taking extra care to work around your brackets, you can go back to brushing twice a day.

Your Child Should Wear a Retainer

While braces do a great job of straightening your child’s teeth and adjusting their bite, it’s up to you to maintain your smile. If you leave your teeth alone after finishing your braces treatment, and you don’t wear your retainer, your teeth will eventually shift back to where they were before treatment. Retainers help keep your child’s teeth straight after they have their braces removed. It’s important to encourage your child to regularly wear their retainer to ensure that their braces treatment wasn’t for nothing.

Regular Dental Visits

After your child finishes their braces treatment, it’s important to continue with regular dental visits to maintain their oral health. Braces treatment has been shown to improve individuals’ overall oral health. As your child’s teeth are straightened, they can more easily clean out any food residue that could lead to cavities. However, it’s important that they continue to see a dentist regularly to have their teeth professionally cleaned. Everyone needs regular dental visits to keep their teeth clean, and prevent any further issues. Your child’s dental visits will continue normally, but they will be less likely to develop cavities and other oral health issues. 

After your child completes the process of having braces, their dental care will be largely the same as it was before. The difference comes in maintaining the results they’ve achieved through treatment. Helping your child keep up their dental care after braces to make sure they remain healthy.

Check out this article on factors that can add to your stress as a parent!