Braces, Dental Care, and Pesach

Dear Rabbi,

I have recently had braces fitted on my teeth that are fixed in my mouth. Now that it is Erev Pesach, I would like to know: do I need to perform hagalah for them? And if yes, how can one possibly do hagalah on braces that are fixed in the mouth? Also, what about dental floss and toothpaste? Do they need a hechsher for Pesach?

Thank you very much.

Answer:
Thank you for your question.

Your question does not concern only braces, but also applies to people who have dentures, fillings, or other dental work.

HaGaon Rav Amrom Fried shlit”a writes that me’ikar hadin one does not need to perform hagalah on any of these.

Yad soledes bo and kli rishon
Since in order for a liquid to be able to absorb taste it has to be yad soledes bo and a kli rishon, and people generally do not drink directly from the hot pot. For example, when making coffee, the water is first boiled in the kettle and then poured into a cup. When one drinks it, the liquid is considered to be in a kli sheini.

The same is true if it is solid food: it has to be yad soledes bo. Even if sometimes one may eat food at that heat, nevertheless we also follow the rule of rov tashmisho (the primary use determines the halachah), and generally one eats solid food when it is not yad soledes bo. And liquid, even if it is hot, is only from a kli sheini.

Enzymes of the mouth
The heat of the mouth and the enzymes found in saliva, which are meant to break down food residue in the mouth, also break down the food residue that becomes absorbed in an artificial tooth or in one’s braces, just as they act on a natural tooth.

Made of a substance that does not absorb
We find with regard to false teeth that they are specifically made from a substance that does not absorb any residue, since if they absorbed it, it could cause an infection. 

This is brought in the Darkei Teshuvah – Siman 89:

“…In addition, the foods that people usually eat are generally from a kli sheini, and the heat does not reach the level of yad soledes bo. He further relates that when he was in Vienna, he asked a leading expert physician and craftsman who specialized in making artificial teeth about the nature of these teeth. The doctor explained, in the course of conversation, that they are made from a particular material imported from America, whose nature is that it does not absorb anything into it.

He added that physicians intentionally design them from this type of material specifically, because it is necessary that if any food residue were absorbed into the teeth, it would cause decay or spoilage within the absorbed matter. When such teeth are placed in the mouth, this could lead to the development of various illnesses in the body.”

Similarly, we find in the Kaf HaChaim (Yoreh De’ah 89:22) that he brings the words of the She’eilas Shalom and the Darkei Teshuvah, and writes – “that in practice, when food or drink is in the mouth and comes into contact with the teeth, it is no longer at the temperature of yad soledes bo.

Additionally, it is reasonable to assume that they are made from materials that do not absorb and emit. Therefore, there is no need to kasher them for the separation of meat and dairy.”

However, HaGaon HaRav Fried shlit”a writes that one must clean them very well, since actual pieces of chametz may be stuck in the braces.

(Some people also have the custom to avoid eating hot chametz during the last 24 hours before the end time of eating chametz on Erev Pesach.)

Dental floss
If it has no taste, then it is permitted even without a hechsher.
If it has taste, or it has wax that has taste, then lechatchilah it needs a hechsher. If one cannot find it with a hechsher, then it is permitted even without a Hechsher as long as there is no known chametz in the ingredients.

Toothpaste
Lechatchilah it needs a hechsher. If one cannot find toothpaste with a hechsher, then one can be lenient and buy one without a hechsher as long as there is no known chametz in the ingredients (it would be preferable to buy one that is tasteless).

Wishing you a Chag kasher vesameach.

Darkei Teshuvah Yoreh De’ah siman 89
She’eilas Shalom Tinyana siman 195
Kaf HaChaim Yoreh De’ah siman 89 se’if katan 22
Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah siman 89
HaGaon Rav Amrom Fried shlit”a - Azamroh Lishmecho #325