How to Floss with Braces: A Guide for Kids

Did you know that over four million USA citizens have braces on due to misaligned teeth? From that number, 75 % are people aged below 25 years.

With such an orthodontic treatment, you need to take extreme dental care of your teeth to ensure you keep your smile brighter and healthier. This includes brushing and flossing every day.

Wondering how to floss with braces? Well, look no further, below is a detailed look on how to effectively floss the teeth with braces on.

How to Floss With Braces

Flossing with braces can be nerve-wracking, especially when advised by dentists to do it regularly. Luckily, there are easier ways to go about it. Read further, and we’ll tell you how.

1. Traditional flossing

The most common type of flossing is the standard version. A clean and straightforward way to get the remaining food particles from in between your teeth.

For this technique, aim to give yourself some additional time for flossing because you have to be gentle and slow. Follow this step by step guide below and learn how to floss teeth with braces effectively.

Using waxed floss, cut about 18 inches. The reason for using waxed floss is because the unwaxed type will be rough to the metal braces causing tears or even breakage. You can cut a longer piece of floss to allow for easy and comfortable flossing.

Start threading the floss between the wiring. Ensure you look through a mirror to monitor the procedure. Gently push the floss against two teeth and start flossing back and forth, up and down.

Floss up the gumline and towards the end of the tooth. Keep going for all the teeth flossing until you’re satisfied with the process. As you move tooth by tooth, gently unthread the floss from the back of the teeth.

This is to ensure you don’t mess with any metal on the braces bracket. Most people don’t prefer this method as it needs time and care to avoid trimming metals on the bracket, or pain when the floss wrongly threads itself. If so, the next process would be a good choice.

2. Oral Irrigators

Also referred to as Waterpik, this could be the best way to floss with braces. This distinct tool uses a water technique where the water is jetted right between the teeth to clean as effectively as when you floss.

This type of flossing is straightforward and very fast to do. Takes about five minutes to completely floss the teeth. The pricing on these oral irrigators is quite high compared to the other types of flossing but it’s worth it compared to other factors like time and ease.

The Waterpik has different models and designs depending on the brand. Some have distinctive edges for orthodontic purposes. Compared to standard tips, these orthodontic tips make it easy and safe for you to floss.

Let’s take a look at a step by step guide on how to floss with braces using the oral irrigator.

Add water to the water reservoir on the irrigator. There are no strict regulations on exactly what to add, so you can add mouth wash to clean bacteria.

Add tips to the flosser and get ready to floss. Adjust for water pressure on the irrigator by pressing the send button. Standing over a sink or basin, place the flossing tip inside your mouth.

Switch on the flosser and let the machine do its job. It’s advisable to keep the mouth shut so as not to splash the water out from the flosser. You can drain excess water from the flosser out of your mouth.

Do this against the spacing of every teeth and across the gum line. Repeat the process for every teeth. If you want, you can also brush gently after the flossing to ensure all the debris is out.

Upon completing the process, drain the reservoir to ensure it remains dry until your next flossing.

3. Floss threader

When learning how to floss your teeth with braces, you look for ways that are faster than the average flossing techniques. You don’t want to spend an entire hour just flossing, right?

So how about an indispensable tool, easy in the pocket, and fast on the process. The tiny plastic called a floss threader can hasten your flossing by getting in between the teeth through the braces at a quicker pace.

Just like how orthodontic dentists come up with beautiful ways to get you smiling like Invisalign, clear correct and other specialized techniques, they also have special tools like these that make your dental care regimen much easier than you imagine.

Read an instructional manual on how to floss with braces using the floss threader.

Cut approximately 18 inches of waxed floss and add it to the threader. Using the pointed end of the needle, gently insert it under the braces bracket and pull out the floss.

Wrap the floss around your finger of choice and press it against the teeth to start flossing. Slide the threader up and down, side by side in a U-shaped motion till you’re done.

Pull out the gloss gently from under the wire to avoid pricking any metal wires from the braces. Cut another piece of floss and repeat the process for all the teeth spacing until you’ve completed the process.

This procedure is very similar to the traditional flossing technique, just a little faster and simpler to handle.

4. Dental Tape

Lastly, another solution to your query on how do you floss work braces is by use of the dental tape. The tape is a pain-free mechanism used by people who may be experiencing pain or significant discomfort during flossing.

There are many victims of gingivitis and in such cases, swelling and bleeding become very common, causing sensitivity of the gums and teeth, which isn’t healthy for dental care. In this case, dental tape is the best solution.

This is the simplest, softest, and thinnest form of floss that is meant to feel more spongy than prickly. It has a distinct look and shape that’s designed, especially for cases where flooding has posed to be more difficult than usual.

The process of flossing is similar to any other type of flossing. Hence, there’s no need for an instructional.

Protect That Smile

Dental care and hygiene are essential for our bodies. With diseases and conditions like bad breath, gum problems and others, it takes more than just brushing the teeth to stay healthy. It’s vital to learn how to floss with braces because you can’t keep that smile if you invite and store bacteria.