Patients see an orthodontist for a wide variety of issues including teeth that are crooked or misaligned. Braces have been widely used for decades, as every orthodontist wants their patient to leave with the best looking, and healthiest teeth. While braces may be one of the older tricks in the book, they have certainly not remained stagnant. Over the last several years, braces have continued to evolve as we have sought to make them more discreet, more fun, and even less visible since nobody likes a mouth full of metal. Braces today come in many different styles, made of different materials and are able to be as subdued or as flashy as you would like them to be. From an orthodontists perspective, braces have grown with regard to the treatment options they offer as well. Not only are we able to treat things like malocclusion (crooked teeth) but we are able to straighten and realign your bite which can have a long-term impact on your oral health. Regardless of why you start your journey with us, we want to make sure that when you leave you have a perfect bite and beautiful teeth to match.Working together, we have a joint mission, which is to correct the alignment of your teeth. To do so is going to require teamwork. On our part, the orthodontist role is to provide you with the best and most effective treatment option. For your part, you will need to make sure that you follow our instructions, have a diligent follow-up, and most importantly keep your teeth extremely clean. There is nothing more frustrating for you, and for us, than to get most of the way through a treatment and discover a large number of cavities or a dental infection that needs addressing.There is no way around the fact that patients who have braces, of any kind, are going to need to pay particular attention to their oral health. This includes improving oral hygiene habits to accommodate changes in the mouth. The braces act like a net, catching all kinds of tiny particles of food. These particles, if not cleaned in a thorough and timely manner, will lead to bad breath, swelling of the gums, tooth discoloration, the formation of cavities, and in some cases full blown dental infections that may require antibiotics or other treatments to cure.The good news is that it is not difficult to prevent this kind of a situation from arising. As your orthodontist, there are things we recommend that you can do to keep your teeth clean and that you follow two simple rules. First, whenever you eat anything, be it a meal or a snack, you should make it a habit to clean your teeth. This prevents the food from ever having a chance to accumulate. Second, take a few extra moments to brush each tooth individually. Spending 10 – 15 seconds on each tooth will ensure that you clean all the surfaces of the tooth properly. You will also need to floss at least once per day along with using a special tool to clean your brackets, something that we will provide you with. Working together, we can keep your teeth healthy and moving in the right direction.[recent-blogs count=4 layout="horizontal"]