Metal mouths are for teenagers. Right? No way. Braces for adults are becoming more common. If you're looking for a straighter smile and have chosen to get braces, caring for your teeth isn't the same as it was before you started orthodontics. Of course, you knew this. But, do you know how to handle the day-to-day healthy mouth care that your teeth need? Between work, family duties and everything else your adult life includes, dental care isn't always easy to fit in. Before you let life get in the way of your mouth's health, check out what you need to know about caring for dental braces for adults.

Watch What You Eat

No, this has nothing to do with some fad diet or new so-called 'healthy' way of eating. When it comes to having braces, watching what you eat means that you need to avoid anything that will get stuck in or damage the braces. Obviously, this includes anything hard, sharp or sticky. Foods such as hard candies, taffy and gummy anything. But, there are also other things that you might eat that can get in the way.

Ice, even though it's not technically a food, is too sharp to chew on. So if you often eat the left-over ice in your drink, now's the time to stop. Other foods may not damage your braces, but may get wound around the brackets or wires. No one wants to go into an important client meeting with stringy spinach stuck in their brace's wires.

Brushing and Flossing

That super heavy-duty electric toothbrush that blasts the stains off of your teeth may need to take a sabbatical while you have braces. Ask your orthodontist if your favorite model of power toothbrush is too strong or could pose a damage risk to your braces.

Continue to brush and floss in the morning and before bed. Brush for a full two minutes each time. Stash a brush and some extra floss in your bag, purse, glove box or desk so that you can clean your teeth (and your braces) after meals and snacks.

Skip Whitening

You're in search of that paper white smile. But, now isn't the time to invest in whitening products. The brackets will block the whitening gel, paste or strips from touching your teeth. Even though the parts of your teeth that are showing through your braces will look pearly, when the orthodontist takes off your braces your smile may look sort of off. Most likely you'll have noticeably darker bracket marks in the middle of your teeth.

Braces aren't just for kids. Dental braces for adults are popular options to straighten the grown-up's smile and correct orthodontic issues. Watching what kinds of foods you eat, caring for your teeth and staying away from whitening products can all help you to make the most of your orthodontic experience.