Keeping your teeth clean during orthodontic treatment is one of the most important ways you can help Dr. Emerson achieve a fantastic smile. When you get your appliances, we will spend time instructing you on how to clean your teeth. Our patients receive a brushing grade each visit and if it is below satisfactory, we will spend time discussing with you how to improve on the areas that are missed.

The following are some of the keys to a healthy mouth during orthodontics:

  • Reducing drinks that are high in sugar
    • Soft drinks, especially Dr. Pepper and Mt. Dew
    • Sports and Energy Drinks
    • Fruit Juices
  • Brushing teeth after each time you eat to remove food and sugary film
  • Brushing along the gum-line (above top braces and below bottom braces)

But, we know that people are busy, life gets hard, and we want to work extra hard to keep your teeth healthy during treatment. That is why each of our brace patients is enrolled in our White Spot Lesion Prevention Program or WSL Program

White Spots or scars are caused when food that is left around braces turns into plaque. If this plaque remains on the teeth, it will either eat a hole in teeth creating a cavity or damage the surface leaving a white scar.

Prevention of WSL is a combination of the right products AND consistent, hard work from patients during treatment. Here are the current products we use to help prevent WSL Show these photos side by side with description beneath Mi Paste is a dental health product, containing RECALDENT™ (CPP-ACP), which uses calcium and phosphate to strengthen and repair teeth.

ClinPro 5000 is a prescription toothpaste that contains 1.1% sodium fluoride. This prescription toothpaste is used at night to protect areas of teeth that may have been missed during the brushing process.

Vanish Treatment – 5% sodium fluoride treatment will be applied in the office at each regularly schedule visit. This is a long-lasting application to help strengthen teeth and prevent plaque from causing WSL.

A combination of these products, along with consistent, hard work, will make an awesome smile.

The following video discusses proper care of braces during orthodontic treatment.