Hygiene of a lose brace

Question

Dear expert team,

how is the best way of keeping a lose brace free of germs?
Can it be disinfected in the vaporisator (how often??), do the metal strands stand it??
Has it to be cleaned with disinfectant??
Many thanks for your answer

Answer

Hello,

a lose brace should be cleaned after the carryage, therefore a normal hand or electric tooth brush with tooth paste is suitable.
Little tip: fill the sink with some water, than the brace does not bang on the porcelaine if it slips out of the hand.
Of course you can also use special cleaning tablets or -products, that is however not really necessary. One should not clean with disinfectant, this would attack the plastic in the long runs. Over all: the germs on the braces are of course the same which are present in the oral cavity and those are not disinfected, either.
In case the brace tends to calcify (that means there is dental calculus on it like on the teeth), than one can from time to fime clean it with diluted vinegar essence.
One should not use a vaporisator, this would also attack the palstic.
Much more important is the storage when not using the brace:
Often the storage under water is recommended, means humid. In case one does not clean very exactly the boxes and the orthodontic apparates, than it can lead fast to contamination with germs and algae. It is better to let the brace dry out slowly after the cleaning on a paper (in the dry environment the Pseudmonas can not survive).
An old orthodontic wisdom says: braces which look like how on the first day, have not been carried. Therefore it is allowed to see that a brace had been used.

Yours sincerely,
Michael Sies

09.11.2009