THE Question - How often do you brush????

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#1 Post by **Blake24** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:02 pm

It has been two weeks since I got my top braces on and since day 1 I have been brushing like crazy....or at least I think I have been brushing like crazy. When I first got them on the Ortho assistant ran through the foods, drinks, etc. that I can no longer have and I stopped her when she mentioned "no coffee, it stains." Without coffee I do not function, so I asked her if there is anything I can do to reduce staining. She told me to cut down to maybe one cup a day and try to brush right after done drinking, or if I am in a hurry then use mouth wash right after I have my 1 cup per diem.

Sooo, that's what I have been doing. I brush right after I have coffee, but after only 2 weeks I have noticed staining!!!! It looks like the exposed cement on my teeth is what is really staining. Anyways, that is just a side story to my main question......

How often do YOU brush????

I now brush in the morning before I leave for work, using a mouth wash right after. I brush after my morning cup of coffee. I brush after I eat lunch and I brush/floss before I go to bed. Let me tell you, I now brush waaay more than I used to, so I am assuming my teeth are much better off now than before. But maybe it is not enough....

I am curious about all of your daily brushing habits...fill me in! And maybe someone can help me with this 1 cup of coffee per day staining my teeth thing.

Blake24

#2 Post by **blindboarder2008** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:17 pm

hi there
welcome to the world of braces

for me i brush my teeth twice a day. During these two times i also use an interdontal proxy brush (aka christmas tree brush) and a sulca brush and i also occasionally use a salt water rinse as well just to clean things up a bit more. Throughout the day i will use the interdontal proxy brush and the sulca brush whenever i eat something and then i'll do a good rinse with clear water.
curisoity only which mouth wash are you using? I used to use Crest Pro Health Mouth wash but had to stop that because it was causing massive stains on my teeth. some mouth washes have a greater tendency of staining teeth then others, just all depends which one it is and what it all has in it. I to am a coffee drinker and tea drinker but i have managed to cut those down considerably to one or 2 cups a day of either one. You say you only drink one cup of coffee a day so that really shouldn't affect you getting stains so fast. NOw on the other hand if you were constantly drinking coffee throughout the day then that could cause staining so it could be the mouthw wash you are using

#3 Post by **radkitty** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:25 pm

I brush three times a day. In the morning I use my oral-b electric brush with the round "braces" head.

I brush manually after i eat lunch. At night I floss and then use my oral-b electric brush again. At night I brush twice - using 2 different "heads" on my brush - first I use the round one and then I switch to the interdental shaped head.

My teeth have stayed super clean - even the ortho was impressed

#4 Post by **Blake24** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:31 pm

Hey blindboarder2008, thanks for the info. Right now I am using Scope mouthwash (the traditional kind, nothing fancy) only in the morning. That is interesting that the Crest Pro Health mouthwash was causing staining, I suppose that could be the case with me as well. I currently use the interdontal proxy brush only at night, but I think I will start using it more during the day after reading your advice. I guess it is also possible that my brushing after the coffee is not causing a sufficient clean around the bracket (hence the staining). I used to drink 2 1/2 cups of coffee a day but cutting down to 1 hasn't really affected me, so maybe I can cut down even more. Thanks for the comment!

#5 Post by **radkitty** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:31 pm

I brush three times a day. In the morning I use my oral-b electric brush with the round "braces" head.

I brush manually after i eat lunch. At night I floss and then use my oral-b electric brush again. At night I brush twice - using 2 different "heads" on my brush - first I use the round one and then I switch to the interdental shaped head.

My teeth have stayed super clean - even the ortho was impressed

#6 Post by **PfectPitch** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:41 pm

I have the same regimen as radkitty and have gotten all kinds of "atta girl" awards from the ortho. I drink one (large) cup of strong British tea every day and really don't notice anything stain-wise. I have come to be very intolerant of unbrushed teeth, something that can't be all bad, I guess.

#7 Post by **changes09** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:54 pm

I try to brush twice a day. But i usually brush twice a day. I floss once a day and i rinse wiht mouthwash about 3 times a day. I also use a toothpaste with flouride once a day

#8 Post by **Andromeda** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:01 pm

I usually just brush twice a day, morning and night, but I always go through my teeth with the little pipe cleaner looking brush (maybe its called proxy?) after any snack or meal during the day so that I know I don't have anything stuck anywhere.

#9 Post by **brika** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:56 pm

I brush after each meal, which usually comes out to be 3 times per day. I alternate using a sonic toothbrush and a manual. I also use my Waterpik whenever possible: It's great for getting out bits of food hiding in the brackets!

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I have tea most mornings, and to combat staining I've started drinking it through a straw to try to minimize the liquid's contact with the front of my teeth. I also swish some Listerine pre-brush rinse before my post-breakfast brushing on the mornings I have tea, but I don't know if you'd want to do that since some people warn against using whitening products with braces. I'd been using it for a long time before getting braced, though, so I figure that if I were to stop I'd probably have a better chance of what isn't covered by the brackets beginning to stain than, when continuing to use it, the rinse suddenly turning those areas of my teeth bleach-white when it never did before! Hopefully my logic makes sense...

Good luck with your staining problem, Blake! I hope you find a solution very soon! :)

#10 Post by **classII** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:24 pm

Coffee does nothing to the braces. There tick-off of the list is nothing more to make it appear that they, the ortho aspect of your dental care isn't a cause of anything.

Drink as much as you like, other than the ligatures staining - if you have light colors, and even the "glue" means nothing. The glue if course at the end of the treatment is removed, as stained as it is or not. It's just the perception from the ortho's point of view if you have braces with stained teeth, people will wonder what your ortho did i

Reality is, nothing. If you smoke and drink coffee, for a few dollars go more than 2 x's per year for a solid cleaning at your dentist, polishing, scrapping per the dental hygenist. Or at minimum use a whitening toothpaste and mouth wash.

Bottom line, as affecting your teeth in braces, it has none. Once completed and the brackets removed and you have only one complete cleaning and whiteneing in reality is all you need.

Blake24 wrote:It has been two weeks since I got my top braces on and since day 1 I have been brushing like crazy....or at least I think I have been brushing like crazy. When I first got them on the Ortho assistant ran through the foods, drinks, etc. that I can no longer have and I stopped her when she mentioned "no coffee, it stains." Without coffee I do not function, so I asked her if there is anything I can do to reduce staining. She told me to cut down to maybe one cup a day and try to brush right after done drinking, or if I am in a hurry then use mouth wash right after I have my 1 cup per diem.

#11 Post by **invertigofreak** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:15 pm

I am the naughty one.

I brush once a day, and any extra when I feel like it. lol...

I usually brush at least twice a day.

Yup. I am really lazy.

#12 Post by **KAS03** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:56 pm

I got clears on my upper and nothing yet on lower one month ago! I was a coffee junkie pre-braces, and have also been very scared to drink it. I'm slowly perfecting my system! I've been able to cut back to just on the wknds as a treat. I do use a straw also and put it right to the back of my mouth. I noticed stains on the ligatures right away after the coffee; but I do find that swishing water between sips and/or brushing after does help! Im a huge starbucks fan and although I love straight up coffee, I've switched to lattes; with only 1 shot espresso not two in a grande. I have no idea if this is better/worse/the same but since it is mostly steamed milk its a little lighter and I can enjoy my drink instead of worrying about stains!

I love brushing with braces, taking much more care of my teeth now, Ive notice improvement in my gum health right away! I use a sonicare in the morning after breakfast for about 4 minutes, and also mouthwash. If I eat a big lunch I do clean my braces out with swishing with water/proxybrush/brushing. I brush after anything potentially staining (coffee, tomato sauce etc.) if I have it. And at night I do a thorough flossing/salt water/mouth wash/brushing.

Good luck!

#13 Post by **saycheeese** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:22 am

At the moment I brush three times a day with an electric toothbrush; in the morning, after dinner and before I go to bed. I only floss once in a blue moon though

#14 Post by **thisisme** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:33 am

I brush two times a day.
In the morning, and before I go to bed.
I take a 'Christmas Tree' brush to school and usually use it after recess and lunch so food is never stuck.
I don't drink coffee, but I still drink my Coke. The only difference is I drink it through a straw now.
I know it's not good to brush straight after drinking Coke, so I avoid that.

#15 Post by **Rachel B** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 4:39 am

I do proper brushing morning and night - I use my oral B triumph brush and brush with both kinds of oral B orthobrush heads. That is about 5 mins of brushing. My toothbrush display winks at me when I get to 5 mins - lol!
Then I also use my xmas tree brush and a mouthwash - listerine in the morning and my flouride mouthwash in the evening.
I also manual brush and rinse with moutwash every time I eat anything.
I floss about twice a week but I HATE it cos it's so fiddly.

I drink tea and haven't reduced the amount at all. When I drink it at home I drink it through a straw.

I don't eat anything strongly coloured and (fingers crossed) my ligs have only minimal staining right now.

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