Brushing-how often do YOU do it?

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#16 Post by **peach** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:34 pm

My ortho said to brush 3 times a day and floss at least once a day. So I brush 3 times a day (after breakfast, lunch and dinner), floss about 2 times a day, and make sure to use my Phos-Flur mouthwash right before bed.

#17 Post by **bracedforit** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 2:31 pm

wow i really envy you guys..it seems like everytime i eat anything there will always be food residue underneath the wires so off to the bathroom i go - after breakfast, at recess, at lunch, after supper and before bed with a waterpik. as for flossing i gave up on that a long time ago but my ortho says my teeth are doing great

#18 Post by **Clairey Fairey** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:45 pm

Three times usually. Morning and night with good old AquaFresh (3 stripes) toothpaste and then followed by a Flouride Mouthwash - Colgate which was recommended by my ortho.

I use a normal toothbrush first and then I finish of with the orthodontic toothbrush to really get in between the brackets.

Occasionally I brush during the day with toothpaste if I've eaten something with a sauce which makes the ligs go yellow!! Otherwise I just have a quick brush with water to get any food out after lunch. I try to do this quickly and descretely as I'm usually at work or college!!!!

I would never be able to brush my teeth after every snack or I'd be forever bruhing my teeth!! I'm a bit of a snacker!!

As for flossing....umm....not to good I'm afraid, only a couple of times a week

but before braces I never flossed and haven't had any problems.

#19 Post by **Nancy51** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:03 pm

Swishing four to six times daily before brushing eliminates almost all food particles for me. Flossing and the wee brushes do the rest. Non-alcohol based rinse prevents excessive drying. I like Crest Pro-Health.

Work days: I brush four times. (I can go home for lunch, luckily.)
Non-work days: I brush six times.
I brush gently, to protect tooth enamel (I used to be a rough brusher and wore down a bit of enamel on two teeth) and to massage the gums.

I floss either at night, or if I'm tired one night, the next day morning and night.

#20 Post by **Pepper** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:52 pm

I brush 2-4 times a day.

I floss every night.

#21 Post by **Genie** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:38 am

AngelOfLife wrote:4 Times a day usually for me. Seems to me like I spend 90% of my time in the bathroom with a toothbrush in my hand

AngelOfLife, I agree with you! On my first day of bracing, I did the brushing, flossing, proxy brush clean, listerine rinse, tooth mousse routine. I wasn't very skillful especially at flossing... After some time (actually after a very loooong time), my sister knocks on the bathroom door and shouted, asking whether I'd fainted inside! And I only had the uppers on...

I still did that routine every night. After snacks and lunch, I brushed and use proxy brush. If there are obstinate food debris between the molar bands and my gums, I floss it out. So I clean my teeth at least 3 times a day. At most 5. But quantity is not as important as the quality of cleaning. Avoid snacks and brush well is a rule I try to obey...

It is troublesome cleaning teeth with braces but I'm sure we will see the fruits of our labour soon! Wish great dental health and beautiful teeth to all

#22 Post by **Meloho** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:40 am

I've been finding my proxy brush quite useless - any particles that get stuck come out with a water rinse or the regular toothbrush. Might that change? Am I doing something wrong? Or are there others who feel the same?

#23 Post by **edinburger** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:23 am

Twice a day I use the Waterpik, I brush my teeth and use mouthwash (Listerine Advanced...which I think helps to keep the ligs white). I carry a proxy brush for the rest of the time. I don't floss.

#24 Post by **Pixel Witch** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:50 am

I've been finding my proxy brush quite useless - any particles that get stuck come out with a water rinse or the regular toothbrush. Might that change? Am I doing something wrong? Or are there others who feel the same?

Meloho, I get most of the stuff out with just a rinse, but once in awhile I get a pesky piece of food jammed up next to a lig or behind the end of the wire.

#25 Post by **skintz** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:21 pm

I'm just posting to say 'well done me' for such a good topic (hehe)-its really interesting finding out what everyone else does. Oh, how we will have such happy teeth when we're done!!

#26 Post by **Genie** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:30 pm

I didn't view the proxy brush as being to get visible chunks of food out, so much as simply to give the areas around the brackets a more careful brushing, since I figured that my regular brush might not be getting in there as well as normal.

I too brush around my brackets with the proxy too. I absolutely love it. Its getting into places where my toothbrush can't reach. I think I will continue to use it after braces are removed too. Just to get to the difficult corners around the molars. They get used up quite fast though...

#27 Post by **BracesRacer** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:39 pm

I brush twice a day with my oral-b super cool spinny brush.... If I have just had an adjustment or my teeth are sore I will use a little kid soft brush. I floss once a day at night. I use my little water irrigation thing usually twice a day or more... sometimes after eating i will clean out my teeth with that rather than the brushing thing... it works great! I use mouthwash only once a day sometimes twice followed by rinsing with water (i dont like that residue of the mouthwash in my mouth).

#28 Post by **Whitters** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:00 am

I've been lurking around this site for a while now and finally decided to join in the conversations.

I brush my teeth EVERY time I eat anything. Usually this is about 3 times daily -- Morning, Lunch time, at night. Oh..I brush with my Oral B spin brush on all occasions.
I find it difficult to floss, I never flossed before I had my braces and now IF I floss, it's only between my top front teeth. I really need to get in the habit of flossing.

#29 Post by **mindykatz** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:26 am

I brush normally in the mornings (salt water rinse, regular brushing with toothbrush, and a listerine rinse) and I do the 45-minute-long-extreme-cleaning before I go to bed (flossing, salt water rinse, toothbrushing, "christmas tree brush" brushing, waterpik, listerine rinse).

During the day I carry diluted listerine and an oral irrigation syringe (a manual waterpik, basically) to get any chunks out after lunch. I also usually carry a bottle of water with me to swish every so often if I feel the need..and to drink, of course.

I feel like as long as I don't have any food stuck in my braces during the day, my mouth is clean enough. If they feel gross I'll brush right after work - and I do carry a toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse for emergency cleaning. I use a lot of diluted listerine, which I feel gets most of the bad gunk off my teeth during the day, but because I dilute it with water, it doesn't dry my mouth out.

I work closely with 6 other women and 3 of them have developed really OCD dental habits since they had braces in high school. The one girl brushes 5-6 times a day, every day! I thought if you brush too hard, too much, you can wear your enamel down. Yikes!

#30 Post by **payoki** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:21 am

when I first got my braces, I was brushing and flossing at least 4,5 times a day. ...but now that I'm nearing the end of my treatment, I've gotten lazy so i just rinse my mouth between meals and brush only twice a day.