Does getting braces decrease your oral hygiene?

No: Poor health care habits increase the need for better hygiene. The appliances break up the soft tissue stimulation which the food supplies on a smooth tooth and with proper brushing. Therefore, with appliances in the mouth, one needs to spend a little more time keeping the soft tissues clean and firm with better toothbrushing and flossing.

Clean teeth: No. Oral hygiene is up to the individual. We either brush and floss our teeth or we don't. It is true that it's harder to clean your teeth with braces but the hygiene is up to you.

Yes, hard to clean!: Ones oral hygiene decreases because teeth without braces have only chewing surfaces, inside and outside gum/tooth interfaces ; the approximating walls "between the teeth" that need cleaning, teeth with braces have five additional surfaces and the retaining wires that are impossible to clean everything. Just do your best! brush floss and proxabrush daily and they will be "clean" as it get.

Should not: Your oral hygiene is based on you and your brushing and flossing-- while braces make it a bit more difficult, using a good professional toothbrush and flossing should maintain your hygiene just fine.

Oral Hygiene: I have seen patients without braces do a horrible job of keeping their teeth clean while many young patients do a great job and have no problems during and after treatment. Watch your diet, brush and floss and the slightly greater effort pays off! ask you dentist how best to keep your teeth clean during the course of treatment.