Keeping these items on you while you’re away from home will always go a long way in terms of maintaining the overall cleanliness of your braces or Line-M-Up™ Trays!
No matter if you’re orthodontic treatment entails traditional braces or Line-M-Up™, you’re going to need to ensure you’re properly cleaning your orthodontic appliances multiple times each and every day.
There are always going to be inevitable scenarios in which you’re away from home and need to freshen up, which is why it’s always best to do you and your teeth a favor by always being properly prepared. Putting portable, cleaning items within a backpack, briefcase, purse or even your school locker will always go a long way in terms of your overall preparedness to maintain your oral hygiene.
When you keep yourself prepared you’ll ultimately be rewarded by maintaining a very healthy smile all throughout your treatment. On this page we’re going to discuss six of the portable items you should keep close by while you’re on the go, so here they are!
1. Water
We’re all of course water-based mammals, and it’s important to remind yourself on a daily basis that water is your friend! Of course water is readily available in all water fountains and even bathroom sinks, so it’s generally important to remind yourself or your kids to drink water during/after eating or after drinking any kinds of sugary beverages.
Sometimes all you’ll be required to do is simply swish the water within your mouth to release any excess food particles or beverage traces, but even just swishing water for about 10-20 seconds can go a long way in terms of maintaining your oral health. Water also helps in terms of decreasing the overall prevalence of acidity within your mouth, which can subsequently help decrease the chances of tooth decay.
Although rinsing your mouth out with water isn’t ever going to be quite as effective as brushing your teeth, it’s always much better than allowing certain food/beverage materials to remain on and in between your teeth.
2. Toothbrush
Even if you don’t have toothpaste with you while you’re on the go, simply brushing your teeth with a toothbrush will go a long way in terms of removing excess food particles and plaque.
Travel toothbrushes come in pretty small, portable sizes, so you won’t necessarily need to keep up with a brush that takes up as much space as a normal-sized toothbrush.
3. Interproximal Brush
There’s no denying just how useful these little tools are for orthodontic patients, and they’re always very easy to keep with you while you’re on the go. Interproximal brushes are predominately utilized to help release food that has gotten stuck in between brackets, an archwire, or your teeth.
These oral health tools are also very effective in terms of releasing plaque as well. There’s a good chance that you’ll appreciate your interproximal brush so much to the point that you’ll use it long after your orthodontic treatment ends!
4. Floss
We all know how important it is to floss on a daily basis in terms of properly cleaning out the plaque that develops in between our teeth, but floss is also very effective in terms of cleaning the spaces between your teeth and archwire as well as within your gumlines.
For braces patients, it’s important to have a floss threader stowed along with your floss, but there are also options to utilize pre-threaded floss that may be more convenient for traditional braces as well.
5. Mirror
There are many instances in which a small pocket mirror is useful while you brush and floss on the go. When you take a look in a small mirror you can get a more thorough checkup to see if anything is still remaining.
But these days you can also utilize your phone’s selfie camera as an alternative to a pocket mirror!
6. Toothpaste
All brands of toothpaste come in travel sizes, so it should always be pretty convenient in terms of carrying toothpaste with you while you’re on the go.
Some of the other items you should consider carrying with you include the following:
- Orthodontic wax
- Basic pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen
Reach Out To Dr. Karpac And Our Team For More Information About Taking Care Of Your Braces Or Line-M-Up™ While On The Go!
There’s no doubt about it that some extra effort while you’re away from home can go a very long way in terms of the overall efficiency of your orthodontic treatment and the general shaping of your new smile!
Always feel free to contact us online or call us at 614-766-0330 (Dublin office) 614-471-6355 (Gahanna office) today to speak with our team about an initial consultation and making the most out of your oral hygiene habit routines!