Good Oral hygiene
Poor oral hygiene
If your teeth and braces look like the picture to the left all the time, then you are probably doing a pretty good job keeping the teeth and braces clean.
Note how the teeth and gums as well as the brackets, wire and modules on the teeth are all sparkling clean. The gums are not swollen and are of a nice pink colour. The back teeth as well as the front teeth are sparkling clean.
If your mouth looks like the photo to the left, then you are not doing a good enough job cleaning your teeth.
Note the red, swollen gums – this is inflammation caused by constant plaque accumulation on the teeth at the gum margin.
The photo shows how large amounts of plaque (The white, cheesy looking material) can collect around the brackets, when they are neither correctly nor regularly cleaned.
The teeth with a slightly “chalky” appearance indicates erosion of the tooth enamel. People who have sugary drinks and food frequently ( 2-3 or more times per day), especially when coupled with poor oral hygiene, have a much higher risk of tooth erosion during braces treatment.
