Cleaning your Braces

At Dr. Cynthia Wong, DDS, we advise our patients to maintain good oral hygiene with braces even though it can be difficult to clean your teeth. Braces are an additional place for plaque, food debris, and acid to collect and damage your teeth and gums. Cleaning your teeth with braces takes considerably more time but is important to keeping your teeth healthy while you have them.

When it comes to brushing your teeth with braces, make sure you brush at a 45 degree angle at the gum line and on the surface of your teeth. We suggest our patients brush the top and bottom of the bracket along with the front to remove plaque.

Flossing is important with braces because there are so many places for plaque to build. We encourage our patients to floss daily with braces to prevent cavities and tooth decay. If you find it challenging to floss with braces, soft picks are a good alternative to traditional flossing.

Don’t forget, any food you eat has a chance to get stuck and around in your braces. Be sure to practice good oral hygiene care so that you have a beautiful smile!

To learn more about all of the services we provide, please visit https://www.drcynthiawong.com/our-practice for more information and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341.

Diet with Braces

When our patients get braces, we advise them to avoid eating foods that can cause damage to your braces. Foods that are hard, sticky, and chewy can cause damage to the wires, bracket, and rubber bands. Hard foods such as nuts and chips should be avoided to prevent damage while sticky foods such as caramel and gum can get stuck to your braces and cause damage.

At Dr. Cynthia Wong, DDS, we encourage our patients to follow a diet that contains softer foods that are less likely to damage your braces. Foods that are safe to eat include dairy, meat, fruit (soft), vegetables (soft), bread, and seafood. Any vegetables or fruits that are harder should be cut up into smaller pieces.

After patients get their put braces put on and later tightened, your teeth will feel sore for a couple of days. During this time we recommend our patients stick to the softest foods possible that require as little force to chew as possible to prevent soreness.

Don’t forget to practice good oral hygiene with braces to keep them as clean and healthy as possible!

To learn more about all of the services we provide, please visit https://www.drcynthiawong.com/our-practice for more information and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341.

Causes of Crooked Teeth

Although everybody wants to be born with straight teeth, this is not the case for most people. The majorities of people have some crooked teeth and require braces or invisalign to straighten their teeth. At Dr. Cynthia Wong, DDS, we want our patients to understand why your teeth may be crooked and the solutions.

A possible reason for your teeth being crooked is crowding which happens when there isn’t enough room in your mouth to fit all of your teeth. With no room for your teeth to fit naturally, your teeth can rotate or become displaced.

Other causes of crooked teeth can include thumb sucking and losing your baby teeth prematurely. Children that suck their thumb when their permanent teeth are developing can push the teeth forward and cause crooked teeth. If your children's baby teeth begin to fall out prematurely, the development of their permanent teeth can be altered as well.

Regardless of your age, braces and invisalign are the best solutions to fixing your crooked teeth. We encourage our patients with children to come in for a consultation to see if their children need braces. Research has shown that fixing orthodontic problems are easier when their mouth is still growing and is flexible.

To learn more about all of the services we provide, visit https://www.drcynthiawong.com/our-practice for more information and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341.

National Children's Dental Health Month

Every February is National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health for children. At Dr. Cynthia Wong, DDS we encourage our patients to bring their children in for a free consultation to see if their children need braces.

Children need braces when their teeth are crooked or if there is crowding. When their teeth don’t have room to grow in naturally, they will begin to shift and become crooked. At our practice we offer a variety of options for braces for your children.

There are a few options for your children to choose from outside of traditional braces. We offer clear braces which are translucent and make it hard to notice you have braces at all. An alternative option to traditional braces is removable aligners called invisalign. Invisalign braces use clear aligners to straighten your teeth. The benefits to invsalign are they are comfortable, removable and are less irritable on gums.

During this month we want your children to be aware of the importance of oral health care including braces to make sure they have the best smile!

To learn more about all of the services we provide, please visit https://www.drcynthiawong.com/our-practice for more information and to schedule an appointment with Dr. Cynthia Wong Orthodontics in Orland Park, IL, call 708-444-8341.