Metal Mouth Message Board

I am off to sunnier skies, Mexico for vacation, departing tomorrow at 6:45am! Still debating if I should haul my full size Waterpik or my portable unit. We are staying at an all-inclusive, so I plan to bribe our room attendant to keep me in plenty of bottled water at all times! I am usually a big tipper but will double up! Will be interesting to see if I can go 6 days with no tortilla chips for my guacamole and salsa.-my downfall! But at least the drinks are included and will be free flowing so if I have any pain I can have some liquid pain killers. Does anyone have any travel tips out there to share?

Have a terrific trip! No tips from me quite yet, but who knows...getting a waterpik through customs might be worth a good story!!

I've got a thing for guacamole too and ordered regular soft tortillas with it at a Mexican restaurant the other night. Life was good.

Opera Gal- you were right! I lugged it though carry on because I was fearful it might break. The ran my waterpik through the screening device 3 times. The TSA employee had never seen one before. And this was in the US. It was hilarious! I was also escorted to the "need more information as you are a possible threat" area where I had to explain what it was in detail...at one point it looked like they might have to take it apart!

Already Fabulous I'll try that.

Here is a recipe my mom made when I was a kid. I have rediscovered it since getting braced as a way to get my Nacho fix.
It's a softer, braces friendly texture but better than total deprivation!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 pound ground beef (I use ground Turkey)
1 tablespoon instant minced onion (I use 1/4 cup fresh onion)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (I use fresh garlic)
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (I use hot enchilda sauce)
1 cup chopped black olives
1 cup sour cream (I use light)
1 cup ricotta cheese (I use light)
3 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers
6 ounces corn tortilla chips
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and drain. Stir in instant minced onion, garlic salt, tomato sauce and olives.
In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, ricotta cheese and green chiles.
Reserve a few chips to use as garnish and crush the remainder. Put half of the crushed chips in the prepared casserole dish and cover with half of the meat mixture. Cover the meat mixture with half of the sour cream mixture, then add half of the Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat layers.
Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes. And don't forget the quacamole!

How come you can't eat chips? That's not on my list...

stacy19201325 wrote:How come you can't eat chips? That's not on my list...

Have you tried eating a tortilla chip yet? You'll find out why. It's a sad, sad thing.

Yeah, I finished off a bag of them two days ago without a problem. It didn't cross my mind that I shouldn't! They didn't hurt or anything, are they dangerous to the braces?

I was just told no sticky/gummy substances, don't chew on ice, don't eat apples/pears whole, no corn on the cob, no popcorn kernels, and cut up carrots and celery before eating.

stacy19201325 wrote:Yeah, I finished off a bag of them two days ago without a problem. It didn't cross my mind that I shouldn't! They didn't hurt or anything, are they dangerous to the braces?

I was just told no sticky/gummy substances, don't chew on ice, don't eat apples/pears whole, no corn on the cob, no popcorn kernels, and cut up carrots and celery before eating.

Dorios and Tortilla chips are on my no list. Along with no sticky/gummy substances you're also not suppose to eat crunchy things. Some people are most comfortable than others eating certain things. I have tried eating tortilla chips before and its awkward and kind of impossible. I don't know if you also have bottom braces but if you don't it may be easier to eat those chips. Either way I am jealous you don't have a problem eating them because I miss them dearly ha.

Hmm...that's not on my list either, but I'm not sure if I've eaten them. I feel like I have (at a superbowl party, especially). Are tortilla chips different from any other kind of chip? Because I know I've eaten regular potato chips. However, I don't eat chips often. Also, I don't have my bottom braces on yet, so this is just another thing to change when I get them, I guess??? LOL Also, I know corn on the cob is a huge no-no, but I've eaten it twice since being braced -- by using my lower teeth. Now I'm going to have to eat A LOT of it before the lowers go on, to get my fix.

Megan11 wrote:Dorios and Tortilla chips are on my no list. Along with no sticky/gummy substances you're also not suppose to eat crunchy things. Some people are most comfortable than others eating certain things. I have tried eating tortilla chips before and its awkward and kind of impossible. I don't know if you also have bottom braces but if you don't it may be easier to eat those chips. Either way I am jealous you don't have a problem eating them because I miss them dearly ha.

No, I don't have my bottom braces on, so maybe that makes a difference. But I don't bite them with my front teeth, they go straight back to my molars and get ground up, so I'm not sure how that would affect my braces. They never touch near the brackets.

Come to think of it, I don't really bite anything with my front teeth, except maybe to bite into a sandwich or something large.

Hi Stacy,Newsboysgrl & Megan,
I am not sure why, but my ortho was very adamant I should avoid these items:

Tortilla Chips (other chips are okay)
Popcorn
Whole Nuts (in half or pieces I can manage)
Hard Candy
Uber Chewy Candy- ie caramels, bit o honey etc...
Ice (Chewing)
Most Raw Vegggies

I'm sure they all have their own lists! The assistant actually said, if you very careful you can really eat anything- as long as it is in small pieces and you are conscious of your chewing. She indicated it is more the young kids they are worried about.
Due to my bite, I have always used by back teeth to chew as well. I have also always used a knife & fork to cut my food into small pieces so eating more carefully has not been a big adjustment.

My issues are cutting back on my veggies (have to steam everything now)curry, and chewy bread.

The trouble I've had with tortilla chips is that they get stuck between the brackets on my bottom molars, and cause the wire to pop out of the tube - not exactly sure why, but it has happened so often that I now carry a nice pair of tweezers in my purse in order to slide the wire back into place when I eat Mexican food, which is quite a lot. My ortho told me her #1 reason for brackets to fall off is Doritos, Fritos, and various other corn / tortilla chips. If you're careful & chew small pieces with your molars you'll probably be OK, but soft tortillas are a safer alternative.

Jenn was kind enough to pm me that recipe due to my insatiable craving for nachos. I've yet to try it out since I cook like a single guy (open can, empty into bowl, push buttons on microwave) but it gives me an option in case my craving reaches the point of obsession. Thanks Jenn!

I wonder what a server would say if I went to El Torito and asked for nachos but with every chip crushed to a pulp...

I just looked at my no-no list and it listed doritos, oh-well I eat chips and salsa, but I do break my chips into small pieces and haven't had any problems.

Good Luck!

B

I have tried eating tortilla chips as well and its pretty impossible and akward feeling however I have popcorn eating down to an art:) I miss corn on the cob as well!!!!! Getting the corn cut off the cob is definetly not the same thing as actually eating the corn on the cob! Hopefully if all goes right one more summer of no eating the actual corn on the cob and then I should be able to unless we can find some corn on the cob in late movember! lol