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If you’re wearing braces, then you know they are working hard to straighten your teeth. However, those hard-working braces are also preventing you from easily cleaning your teeth. It is essential that you put some extra attention into preventing tooth decay while wearing your braces. When your braces are finally removed by Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi, you want a beautiful, white smile, not decayed or stained teeth. Here, we’ve listed the five best ways to ensure you have the smile you’ve always dreamed of once your braces are gone.

Use a Special Toothbrush

A regular toothbrush just doesn’t cut it when you are wearing braces. You also need to use an interdental toothbrush so that you can effectively clean behind the braces. This type of brush has bristles that are shaped like a Christmas tree that can remove food residue in the braces and on the teeth. We also recommend using a WaterPik, with its highly pressurized pulsating water, to help get all of those hard-to-reach places.

Brush after Every Meal

Since braces block food from naturally escaping your teeth after eating, it’s important that you take the time to brush and floss after every meal. The less time food has to sit on your teeth, the less likely it is to cause decay. This may seem like an inconvenience, but trust us, when you get your braces off, you will be very glad you brushed after every meal.

Don't Forget the Mouth Rinse

Even after properly brushing and flossing, there are probably some food particles in your braces. A fluoride mouth rinse is the best way to ensure that every bit of food is removed after meals. If you do not have a mouth rinse available, we suggest using water — it’s better than nothing.

Avoid Sweets

Prevention is definitely the best medicine when it comes to avoiding tooth decay. If you can nix decay-causing sugary foods from the outset, we promise you’ll spend less time trying to treat problems in the future.

Get Regular Checkups

Visit your dentist regularly while you are wearing braces. Our office recommends a thorough cleaning every three to six months. Let our Chula Vista or El Cajon, CA office know if you have questions about your oral health while in braces - our entire team at Orthodontics Unlimited by Dr. Kuruvadi & Associates is here to make sure your teeth are as beautifully straight as they are healthy!

Today, Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi and our team thought we would offer a few tips for our patients currently undergoing orthodontic treatment. For those of you wearing braces, it’s important to be even more dedicated to good oral hygiene than those not currently in treatment.

After getting your braces, it is important to know how to take care of your teeth in order to ensure that your braces stay intact and do their job so that your teeth are in top-notch condition after you complete your orthodontic treatment.

Braces are known to trap food, which contributes to plaque formation. If it is not carefully removed from the teeth and gums, plaque will develop into decay or gum disease, leading to costly delays during your treatment. It is important to practice good oral hygiene by following instructions from Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi during your treatment.

We are proud to offer supplies to help fight plaque, such as a proxabrush, dental floss, and floss threaders. The use of an electric toothbrush and or a water pick can also be helpful in combating cavities and decay. And, of course, our team at Orthodontics Unlimited by Dr. Kuruvadi & Associates suggests brushing at least twice a day.

We hope that helps! If you have any questions, please give us a call at our Chula Vista or El Cajon, CA office or ask us during your next adjustment appointment!

So you’re about to get braces. Congratulations! You are taking a very smart step to improve the health of your teeth as well as get that killer smile in shape. But, as with anything that is good for you, there are a few things you will have to avoid while you “do your time.”

Some foods don’t do so great with braces. The foods listed below should be avoided while you are wearing your braces because they can pop the brackets and bend the wires. In other words, these foods can really ruin your day, and send you back to Orthodontics Unlimited by Dr. Kuruvadi & Associates to get your braces repaired.

So before you hit the chair, hit the grocery and candy store – one last time – for:

• Beef jerky
• Raw carrots
• Taffy
• Pizza crust
• Bagels and other crusty bread
• Popcorn
• Hard candy
• Nuts and seeds

Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi and our staff will give you more information about eating with braces. Some foods, such as apples, are okay as long as you cut them in pieces first. Others, like pudding and pasta, are fine just as they are. But then there is “the list”: the foods that are a big no-no and should be avoided. It won’t be forever, so hang in there.

Your braces time will pass before you know it and you can resume more normal eating. But before the braces go on, enjoy these tasty treats. Go ahead and indulge!

Orthodontists and dentists use advanced procedures to treat and save teeth. But sometimes, a tooth just can’t be saved and needs to be extracted. Sometimes it’s due to extensive decay, or infection, or serious injury. Or sometimes, to create a healthy bite, an extraction is necessary during orthodontic treatment.

When does an orthodontist recommend an extraction? Conditions which call for extraction include:

• Incoming Wisdom Teeth

Not many people have enough space in their mouths for four wisdom teeth! And when there’s no room to erupt properly, wisdom teeth can become decayed or infected, push your other teeth out of place, and damage the roots of nearby molars. Extracting wisdom teeth protects your teeth and your bite alignment.

Usually, orthodontic treatment takes place before the wisdom teeth begin to erupt. But if yours start to make an appearance during treatment, your orthodontist and dentist will work together to schedule extraction without interfering too much with your orthodontic treatment plan.

• Tooth and Jaw Structure

Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi and the team at Orthodontics Unlimited by Dr. Kuruvadi & Associates carefully plan your treatment based on examinations, X-rays, and/or 3D imaging. The goal is to align your teeth and jaws for an attractive smile and a healthy, functional bite. When overcrowding is severe, or if there is a serious malocclusion (bite problem), or if a particular tooth is unusually large or misshapen, your orthodontist might recommend an extraction.

Sometimes more room can be made for teeth with appliances such as palatal expanders or, in other cases, with the help of oral surgery. Extractions are only recommended when they are absolutely necessary.

• Baby Teeth Which Aren’t Coming Out 

Baby teeth normally fall out in a predictable pattern. Front teeth first, canines and molars last. Baby teeth have small roots, and these roots begin to break down when the adult teeth underneath put pressure on them as they start to erupt. As the root gets smaller and smaller, the baby tooth gets looser and looser—until it falls out. 

Sometimes, though, the roots of primary teeth don’t break down, and the baby teeth stay right where they are. This means that the permanent teeth have to erupt someplace else—usually behind those baby teeth. This creates a double row of teeth, and your permanent teeth can become crooked or overlap as they try to fit in. Extracting stubborn baby teeth allows your adult teeth to come in just where they’re supposed to. Because of their small roots, extracting primary teeth is usually simple and straightforward, and can be done in your dentist’s office. 

• Too Many Teeth

Most of us have 32 adult teeth, including wisdom teeth. It’s rare, but sometimes an extra, or supernumerary, tooth develops. Your jaw is most probably not equipped to accommodate any extras, so, in this case, the extra tooth or teeth are removed to give the rest of the teeth the space they need to avoid overlapping or crowding.

When your orthodontist recommends an extraction, it’s because it’s important for your dental health. Dr. Sanjay Kuruvadi will refer you to a dentist or a specialist like a periodontist or oral surgeon, who will: 

• discuss the extraction procedure with you, including sedation options
• numb the area 
• gently loosen and then extract the tooth
• provide options for pain management after the procedure
• give you detailed instructions for aftercare
• work with your orthodontist to keep your treatment on schedule

Extraction is never your first choice, or your orthodontist’s! But when an extraction is necessary for tooth and bite alignment, everyone at Orthodontics Unlimited by Dr. Kuruvadi & Associates in Chula Vista or El Cajon, CA will coordinate a treatment plan to create your best—and healthiest—smile.