Getting braces only may give you the best result if you don’t know how to maintain it. So, you need to use the essential dental kit for braces survival or to keep them safe, maintain oral health, and make the treatment more effective.
In this article, I will discuss the top 15 essential dental care kit for braces survival.
You may already have some products and you may need some that you can’t ignore while wearing braces.
Let’s start.
Best 15 essential braces care kit
Let’s take a look at the essential dental kit for braces survival.
1. Orthodontic wax
Dental wax is one of the most important tools that you must have while wearing braces. You need it from the first day after getting braces to the day when braces come off.
You can use orthodontic wax to relieve pain and to fix a broken component of braces temporarily at home.
Sometimes, a bracket may get loose or wires may be popped out due to an injury or any type of damage. Take a small piece of wax and apply it over the braces or wires to get rid of it.
However, you may need to make an appointment with your orthodontist to get it to repair in some circumstances.
Even then you can use the wax until you visit the orthodontist. This prevents the braces from hurting your cheek and lips and allows your mouth to function properly while eating or talking.
But, the wrong technique of using it may not be effective. So, follow proper methods of applying wax to braces.
There are so many dental waxes available in the market and you can order those anytime online. But, you should know all products may not be good for the braces.
So, check out the complete guide.
Our recommended orthodontic wax:
2. Toothpaste
You may wonder why I have mention toothpaste as an essential tool for braces. First of all, you must maintain your oral hygiene with braces or it may cause many dental problems such as tooth decay, gum disease, tooth sensitivity, tartar formation, and more.
And, secondly, you shouldn’t use any type of toothpaste with braces. Many people think of using tooth whitening toothpaste.
But, you can’t use it regularly because you will end up having an uneven tooth color after the removal of braces.
Whitening products can only whiten the exposed portion of your teeth while wearing brackets. Instead, you should use a toothpaste that can protect your teeth from dental problems.
So, use fluoride toothpaste regularly with braces to get good oral health.
Our recommended toothpaste:
3. Manual Toothbrush
Braces make it too difficult to brush your teeth and remove all food debris and plaque in between teeth and wires.
Besides, braces may be damaged or broken if you use a hard bristle toothbrush. So, always use a toothbrush that has soft bristle that’s friendly for braces.
Moreover, use proper methods to clean brush your teeth with braces on teeth to prevent any damage.
Learning the technique is also necessary to remove food particles and plaque completely from the teeth and braces.
Otherwise, you may develop tooth staining, plaque, tooth caries, and other dental conditions.
You will get varieties of toothbrushes that can be suitable for brackets and wires such as an interdental toothbrush, v trim toothbrush, and soft bristle braces-friendly toothbrush.
If you forget to carry your toothbrush while traveling, you can buy Colgate Wisp or other disposable soft toothbrushes with braces.
Our recommended toothbrush:
I have also discussed the electric toothbrush later in this article.
4. Regular Flossers
Flossing is a mandatory task during orthodontic treatment. Maybe, you never did flossing before getting the braces, but you must do it after you have them.
The reason is brushing alone can’t remove all debris thoroughly from your braces and teeth. But, which types of flosser should you use?
You can use a regular floss threader that can effectively clean braces and teeth. You can easily floss under the wires and in between teeth with it.
Another great product you can use is called ortho flossers. These are specially designed to floss teeth with brackets and wires. These are easier to use and suitable for braces.
However, you have to learn the right approach to floss teeth with braces. Otherwise, you can damage them or, cleaning may not be effective.
Also, don’t forget to carry the flossers with you while traveling.
Our recommended regular flossers:
I have also discussed the water flossers later in this article.
5. Mouthwash
To keep your mouth fresh and free from bacteria you can use mouthwash regularly. While wearing braces you can develop bad breath as it is difficult to clean your mouth completely with those metal components.
Using mouthwash can be an easy and effective way to get rid of foul smell.
Our recommended mouthwash:
6. Lip Balm
After getting braces for the first time or every time after braces adjustment, your lips get irritated and dry.
So you can use a lip balm to solve this problem and make your lip moist and comfortable
You can use any type of lip balm but stay away from the variety that’s made of the wax base because this prevents hydrating the lips. So, you a balm that contains shea butter.
7. Braces wax alternative
An alternative to braces wax is necessary because you may be out of wax sometimes. Besides some people don’t like to use the wax.
So keep an alternative to dental wax with you all the time.
Dental silicone is the best substitute. It’s almost like the dental works but its ingredient is different.
You can also use beeswax and other natural alternatives that may be available at your home.
I suggest you get both dental works and one or two alternatives have these are essential for viruses and you may need them at any time.
Our recommended alternative to braces wax:
8. Mouthguard
If your child wearing braces, hey what say shot via a mouthguard during outdoor sports or performing any activity that has a chance of falling down.
You may wonder why I am talking about this. Normally when people have a sports injury they may not hurt extremely.
But, braces wearers carry those hard and rough metal surfaces inside the mouth.
So, if they get injured, it’s become so severe and cause a lot of damage to mouth and teeth including breaking the braces.
But if you use a mouthguard it will create a barrier between the soft tissue of your mouth and braces or teeth.
Therefore even if you fall on your mouth it won’t be so serious. So, keep a sports mouthguard to prevent this from happening and must use it for outdoor sports.
Our recommended Mouthguard:
9. Pain Relievers
Pain is a common problem after getting braces. You feel pain and discomfort after getting braces tightened or with new braces.
Do it stops hurting you after a while you may feel discomfort from time to time. So, always carry pain relievers with you to get rid of the pain.
You can use salt and lukewarm water or take over-the-counter pain relievers or medications that are prescribed by your orthodontist.
Check out our other article to know 25 ways to relieve pain from braces.
10. Electric Toothbrush
You should get an electric toothbrush for braces. Though I have mentioned it late, it’s one of the most important kits that you should buy during orthodontic treatment.
The study found that an electric toothbrush is more effective than a manual toothbrush while wearing brackets and wires.
They can remove debris and plaque from hard to reach areas in your mouth.
Orthodontists also recommend using it with braces because you face difficulty when you brush your teeth with a regular toothbrush.
Use it regularly to get the best result using proper methods.
Our recommended Electric Toothbrush:
11. Tongue Scraper
As I mentioned previously that wearing braces can develop bad breath, you should also use a tongue scraper to prevent it.
Tongue scraper helps clean food particles and remove those yellow stains from your tongue. That gives you a healthy oral environment.
12. Nail Clipper
It may sound strange but a nail clipper can be very effective in various circumstances while wearing braces.
But what’s the relationship between nail clippers and braces?
Braces wire may pop out and poke your cheek sometimes due to an accident or any other cause.
Sometimes, the wire may get bent or an extended portion of the wire may poke back your mouth after an appointment.
You can use a nail clipper to cut the extended portion. However, you should consult with your orthodontist before doing that.
You can check out our other articles on how to fix poking wires.
13. Water Flossers
You need to use all-out efforts to maintain oral hygiene with braces. So, you can also get a water flosser or Waterpik to clean your teeth and braces that you may not do with normal tooth-cleaning techniques.
Use it with regular floss and a toothbrush to get a better result.
If you don’t want to buy this, go for an electric toothbrush or an electric toothbrush and flosser combo device and add a regular floss to your tooth-cleaning routine.
Our recommended Water Flossers and electric toothbrush Combo:
14. Compact Pocket Mirror
If food gets stuck in between your teeth, you can feel it. But you cannot feel it whenever food debris gets caught in braces or under the wires.
So always carry a small traveling mirror with you so that you can check your braces if food particles are stuck in braces after eating something.
A compact mirror also helps clean your braces effectively.
15. Pocket Facial Tissues
You can always keep a pocket tissue. After getting new braces some people may experience drooling and others may have salivation.
So, tissues can be helpful in that situation, especially when you are in a public, office, or school.
You can also check out this article.
Takeaways
You should keep those must to have kit for braces to face any favorable or unfavorable situation with braces.
Orthodontic treatment is a long journey and you should know how to maintain it nicely during this time. Braces care kit can help you do it easily.
Pallab Kishore is a certified dentist and the owner of Orthodontic Braces Care.
He completed BDS in 2014. Now, he is an MS resident in Orthodontics, BSMMU. He likes content writing and has 12+ years of experience in blogging.
