How to Clean Your Braces: A Simple Daily Routine

Braces trap food more easily than bare teeth, but a good routine takes just a few extra minutes. Here is how to keep your smile healthy through treatment.

Your daily routine

  1. Rinse first. Swish with water to loosen food around the brackets.
  2. Brush after meals. Use a soft brush at an angle, cleaning above and below each bracket. Aim for two minutes.
  3. Clean between teeth once a day. A floss threader or orthodontic floss gets under the wire; a water flosser makes it faster.
  4. Check your smile. A quick look in the mirror catches anything you missed.

Helpful tools

  • Interdental brushes: tiny brushes that clean around brackets and under wires.
  • Water flosser: great for reaching spots regular floss struggles with.
  • Orthodontic wax: not for cleaning, but a lifesaver for a poking wire.

Foods to be careful with

Hard, sticky, and chewy foods can damage brackets and wires. Go easy on caramel, hard candy, popcorn, and whole apples or carrots (cut them into pieces instead). Protecting your braces keeps treatment on schedule.

Why it matters

Good cleaning prevents white spots, cavities, and gum irritation, so your teeth look great when the braces come off. If a bracket comes loose or a wire pokes, see our tips for an orthodontic emergency and give us a call.

Not in treatment yet and weighing your options? Compare Invisalign vs braces.