Metal Mouth Message Board

I too am a self confessed coke (cola) addcit. I got hooked while in university, and haven't been able to kick it (not that i've really tried). I can easily go thru a 6 pack a day. I did manage to switch to diet with lime complimented with the odd C2, but that's as far as I can go. When i do get my braces, i'm sure the first thing i'll be grabbing for is a coke (for comfort!) and no ortho is gonna be able to break me of it - sorry! I

I am a Pepsi addict and constant gum chewer. I still drink pepsi with my braces but use a straw and rinse after. I am so limited on what I can eat I will be darned if I am going to be cut off from my pepsi too! As for gum, I can't even get my back teeth to touch so gum is pointless but once my teeth touch in the back again I am gum bound. Sugar free of course. I do follow all the other rules about ice, chips, nuts, popcorn (ouch I miss popcorn) and so on.

ortho sent me home with sugarfree gum the day I was braced. I was told to not baby my teeth (but no crunchy or chewy stuff of course), and chew gum to relieve the pain. they recommended chewing to make the pain go away faster because chewing increases bloodflow to the gums.

Being a good girl , I chewed gum pretty much right after I got braced, and only had about 2 days of discomfort.

Now sugarfree Juicy Fruit is my bestest friend!

Thanks for this topic. I've had braces for over a month and the one thing is miss is GUM. I'm scared i'll ruin everything if i chew it so i've not had any in forever it seems. I think after reading these posts i'll try a piece and see what happens.

THANKS EVERYONE for all your replies & advice......

I think I'm gonna chew my sugar-free gum and drink my Diet Coke now!

I'll at least give it a go, anyway!!....Hopefully it will be OK!

I didn't drink lots of Diet Coke anyway - but 1 glass a week would be good.......Just something different to water!!

Thanks for the tips on the gum...... hopefully it will help my pain too.. since having the braces I feel desperate to bite down on something!

Anyway, many thanks again.

Take care

LUCY xxx

Is it the acid and chemicals in Diet Coke or the carbonation? Like is sparkling water and tonic water no-nos too?

My ortho told me that sugar free gum was fine - was just told yesterday and I'm getting regular old metal braces. I was told I could go ahead and have gum all I wanted.

And I wasn't told not to drink diet coke, either...I guess I'll have to ask about that when I go back next week to be braced. Or perhaps I won't - I drink tons of it and I probably won't stop even if they tell me to.

Almost everyday and have not had a problem. My husband yelled at me when he seen me chewing the gum. The other day I had a sour patch kid, laughy taffy and well everything is still in place! I heard sprite and coke or pepsi is bad, and root beer is the best to drink. I drink pepsi everyday a couple cans at that and I am just fine!

RC

mackenzie wrote:Is it the acid and chemicals in Diet Coke or the carbonation? Like is sparkling water and tonic water no-nos too?

the carbonation is just carbon dioxide gas, so that doesn't have any ill effects on your teeth. basically, when a can of soda is sitting under constant pressure (aka is closed) the solution is in equilibrium--the gaseous carbon dioxide is dissolved in the solution. when a can of soda is disturbed (opened, or the soda is poured out), the carbon dioxide goes from being soluable in the solution to gaseous because it's given an escape route, and then it 'fizzes' and is released into the air. this is why pressure builds up when you shake a can of soda--the carbon dioxide escapes into the airspace that is at the top of the soda can. after a while, it settles back down in the solution. sorry, i'm a chemistry major.

however, the carbonic acid i assume could wear away at the cement in your brackets; however, i really can't see it happening too much because the acid isn't that concentrated, and it is only in direct contact with your teeth for a few seconds, unless you sit there and let it soak into your teeth or something stupid like that, haha.

soda is just really bad for your body. it's probably the worst thing you can drink aside from a lot of alcohol. even diet soda is horrible for you because it's full of unnatural presrevatives and whatnot.

i usually limit myself to one or two sodas a day. going over that is really bad for your health, though.

I was told not to chew gum, but my ortho never said not to drink soda plus they have coffee in the waiting room and when I asked about the cofee they said that it would be ok.

I do chew gum once in a while. There's a technique.....chew the gum as you usually would, just be careful not to let it wander onto the outsides of your teeth. (You have to chew slower.)

I couldnt live without my gum I've always chewed since being young and i love wrigleys extra, i've chewed it all my time in braces and im actually gonna find it hard when i get retainers and i cant chew it anymore.

I've chewed gum with my hawley in before and lets just say it didnt go to well so i wont be making the same mistake again.