Leaving wax on

[Septimus]

Hello folks.

Is it ok if I leave wax on my brackets for several days at a time and kind of just brush around them?

its such a hassle taking wax out every time i want to brush, and im running out of the stuff pretty fast.

what do you guys reckon? will my teeth rot ?

[36nBraced]

i've never used wax since i wanted to build up my pain tolerance and toughen the inner lining of my mouth. so far, it's worked well for me. no mouth sores or anything out of order in there

[ladygal]

I know exactly what you're going through...I used so much wax when my braces were first on. It was the 2nd week before I could survive without wax. But leaving it on and "brushing around" was the easy way out, but as with most easy was it's not good for me. For the most desparate places, I would take it out right before I ate and then put it back. But that got really old really soon. But if you leave the wax in it will just fill up with food and eventually you'll eat it. And whatever is left could start to break down your teeth.

But what I found worked was I slowly used less and less till I was done. I couldn't take the "cold-turkey" approach, but gradually I got used to using less. I still have a callousy spot that requires wax every 1-2 weeks(it's on my bottom lip where the lip attaches to the gum line, it refuses to heal 100% so when it blisters up again I just put wax there for a few days and it's good again till the next 10 days)

What bothered me the most was the little prongs around the metal brackets, they seemed to almost cut my teeth. So I had to use wax there the most. I also had to use wax around my top canines for a few days cause I got canker sores. FYI, those little prongs that annoyed me so much?????, I told my ortho tech about them and he fixed them!!!! I suffered a whole month and if I had just called them and told them about it they would have fixed it.

I guess I said all that to say, yes use wax but slowly wean yourself off of it. Definitely use salt-water rinses (if you don't have a salt-restriction) As your teeth move you may have to use wax again for a few days...that's ok but just don't live in wax

p.s. Wal-Mart sells it for a dollar if you're getting really low.

[lionfish]

Septimus, I've previously bought wax at Woolies when I've run out between ortho visits. It's called Wisdom and retails for around $3. You will find it with the dental products. Otherwise, next time you go to your ortho, ask them for some wax. Mine gives me wax FOC.

I find that I can eat with wax in place, but prefer to remove it when I'm cleaning/brushing and reapply if necessary.

[ingyandbert]

Your teeth need to be cleaned and you also need to floss for the sake of both your teeth and gums. Leaving the wax in may seem more convenient but it's a bad idea.