Cleaning and brushing your teeth is very important. You must keep your teeth, gums and appliance perfectly clean at all times. The appliance will not harm your teeth but food debris left around the appliance will cause decay, white marks, gum disease and you will get very bad breath if you don’t clean your teeth properly.

To assist your brushing, we recommend the use of disclosing tablets 3 times a week.

Use them as follows:

1. Brush teeth
2. If possible, apply Vaseline around lips
3. Chew half of one tablet for approximately 1 minute, rinse mouth with water a few times and spit down the sink. Be careful not to get onto clothes as it is a vegetable dye and will stain.
4. Anywhere that was missed when you first brushed your teeth will now show up on the dye (usually pink or purple)
5. If needed re-brush your teeth
6. It is normal for your tongue to discolour as it is full of plaque and food debris

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Avoid fizzy drinks at all costs (not only are they full of harmful sugar,fizzy drinks are acidic and very harmful).

Throughout fixed appliance treatment you must:

• Not bite your nails, eat chewing gum, toffee or other sticky or hard foods as they may damage or break the brace. Hard foods must be cut up
• Avoid biting directly into apples, crusty bread, meat on the bone etc, as they will knock the brackets off
• Contact the practice if a piece of the appliance becomes loose or comes off at any time

It is important to visit your own dentist for any routine treatment including dental check ups which are necessary throughout the course of your orthodontic treatment.

The BOS have created videos to help with tooth brushing: