Flossing and Braces

[lizzoo]

Hi all, I got my braces yesterday morning and it wasn't bad initially, but a few hours after the appointment I had some major discomfort and pain. I don't know if I'm just really sensitive or a pansy when it comes to pain, but even though my mouth was feeling awful I still tried flossing because I'm really paranoid about my gums becoming infected and bleeding. Well, the flossing was unsuccessful. I really tried but half the time I couldn't get the floss between the teeth because it was so tight. And when I could get the floss between it would get stuck and I'd have to try to tug it out and then I became scared of breaking something or bending something so I quit. Anyway, my question is, is it okay if I wait a while to floss? And in the meantime, is there anything else I can do or use (besides brushing and mouthwash) to make sure my teeth and braces are clean? Does anyone have any tips on making flossing a little less complicated and scary??

[Indy]

Lizzoo things will get better. My teeth had to adjust to braces and it did hurt some to floss, but after a short time it got easier. It will be okay if you can't floss for a while. Stick to brushing after you eat and use a floride rinse until you can floss. Also, as your teeth begin straightening out it will get easier to floss and not be as scary.

[kirjax]

yeah I've only been in them for 6 days and it still is uncomfortable to floss and I can't get the floss to go inbetween teeth but I do my best. Don't worry as long as your brush and rinse really well that should be okay and once the discomfort dies down give it another go.

[bracesafter40]

patience...it gets better. I had no issues and I have tight teeth. Just use the loops they give you and get that floss down between the teeth and around the gum line.

[GinaLime]

I didn't floss for the first couple of days because my mouth was just too sore -- I got by with plenty of rinsing and use of the proxy (Christmas tree) brush instead of flossing. Now I use a floss threader and regular floss (takes a while, but it's cheaper than special threader floss). I can't floss between a few of my teeth because they're too tight now, so I try to do my best with the proxies.

[bbsadmin]

I'm assuming that you were trying to floss with a plastic floss threader needle....not with the floss by itself. It's almost impossible to get the floss between the brackets unless you have some sort of stiff end to guide it.

Fortunately nowadays there are a lot of products to help people with this. You can find them in your local drugstore, or on the web (my store, at www.dentakit.com sells several of them).

Glide Threader Floss
SuperFloss (same as Thornton 3-in-1 Floss)
SturdyFloss
FlossFish tool
BridgeAid Floss Threaders

There's also something called the FlossPopper, but I demo'd it to a bunch of people here on the forum and the overall feeling was that it was too hard to use.

Interproximal spiral brushes work well, as do Waterpiks or similar devices like the Oral Breeze products.

It takes while to get the hang of flossing with braces. When I first got mine on, it was easily 20 minutes of work. By the end of my treatment, I was able to zip through it in 5 minutes because I was so practiced

[lizzoo]

Hey everyone, thanks for the responses! I'm still trying to floss (even though I'm still pretty sore) but most of my teeth are just too tight. I have been using a floss threader and I'm guessing normal sized floss so maybe I'll go out and get some different types of floss. Even though my flossing attempts have been unsuccessful, I'm still brushing and rinsing multiple times a day and I also use one of those christmas tree brushes. My ortho gave me a fluoride rinse but told me to only use it twice a week and I have yet to try it. Thanks for all the advice! I really hope this gets easier!

[bracieb]

MIne were *areaaa0really tight, too. They are improving, and I can floss now, but at first ai as like you. I got superfloss from my ortho- the end is stiff. i could thread that through the space at the very top, so I wiggled it around there after a coupleof days- at first it hurt too much.

[bbsadmin]

I had very tight spaces between the teeth when I first got my braces. The only thing I could use successfully was the Glide floss. You could tie it to a plastic threader needle, or use the Glide Threader Floss, which already has a stiff end.

About a year after my treatment began, I was finally able to use normal floss because my teeth had shifted (extractions also helped). Now I have to use something rather thick -- which kinda makes me laugh because my teeth were so tight for most of my life, I could barely floss them comfortably!

So, I guess the moral of the story is...you could start out with Glide, but end up with regular floss later when it's easier and your teeth aren't so tighty packed.