BRUSHING
First, you need the right tool—a soft bristled toothbrush. You do not want one with stiff bristles as these can damage your braces. Strong electric toothbrushes should also be avoided.
Next, you need to perfect your technique. Start by brushing the outside of your teeth, including the braces, with the brush tilted at a 45 degree angle. Use moderate pressure—not hard enough to damage the appliance and not too light to be ineffective—and make sure you cover the outer area of all your teeth. From there, move to the other surfaces and continue using moderate pressure. Make sure you brush for three minutes and that you do it at least twice a day.
FLOSSING
Flossing should be done at least once a day, though twice a day is ideal. To floss while wearing braces, you need to thread the floss under the archwire. Once you have threaded the floss, just carefully floss between all of your teeth.
When threading the floss, it is a good practice to start by pushing the floss vertically from the top to the bottom on your upper teeth and from the bottom to the top on your bottom teeth, always threading away from your gums. Once threaded, carefully floss around each tooth and gum, moving the floss up and down, just like you did with out braces.
