Am I the only one?

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#16 Post by **BoSox2008** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:15 am

I have been slacking quite a bit after the first month as well!

I'm not anal about flossing, I brush 2X a day (more if I'm home and feel like it). I chew gum daily, drink coffee, and don't even remember the list of no-no foods. My braces are still on, my teeth are still white, and I haven't broken a bracket this whole year... I think its okay.

Oh - and my ortho recommended cleanings every 3 months. Oops, I don't have time to fit those appointments into my busy schedule. I think we'll all be okay : )

#17 Post by **HisBabygirl** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:02 pm

SDFD TSchott wrote:Lets see when I had my braces on I always chewed gum *Sugar Free* I ate crunchy foods, in fact I even ate an apple whole one time without cutting it ** Yes that was a chore **

But after all that I was done and I have great results to show from it... Just click here to see those results.

Oh and I only brushed twice a day flossed once every other day, and still had my norm cleaning every 6 months.

~Tim~

thanks for posting that!! its gonna be me in a year! maybe a little less if i start behaving...but probably not...

#18 Post by **Faerydust** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 6:08 pm

Let's see here. I don't brush my teeth as often as the first week I was braced, but I do brush at least 3x a day. If I don't the brackets look pretty gross (I have ceramics). I gave up on trying to floss, my teeth are so close together that the floss gets stuck. I know it's not as effective as real floss, but I use the waterpik electronic flosser and interproximal brushes to clean between teeth.

I've chewed sugar free gum and eaten popcorn. My front teeth are a little sensitive still so I can't really bite into anything will my front teeth. I eat crunchy foods, but chips are a bit scary. Sometimes a pointy piece of chip will get stuck behind a wire and then with my next bite it will jab into my gum. Not pleasant. I don't like caramel or taffy and didn't eat those before braces, but I'm not avoiding them because they are no-no foods.

I'm trying to be good about my oral hygiene. I'm thinking of going into dental hygiene instead of nursing and I don't want to be a hypocrite.

#19 Post by **Beckster** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:00 pm

I am one of those who eats everything I "shouldn't" eat without a problem. I am, however generally meticulous about oral hygeine. I am a bit more laxed on flossing than I was during my previous time in braces, but try to do it as much as I can.

As far as gum is concerned...I chew it constantly!

#20 Post by **Buffy** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:07 am

I brush my teeth twice a day, like I always have. I now waterpik too, but not every day (it's a bit noisy, and I don't want to wake everyone up!). I also floss pretty much every day, but I did that before braces.

I haven't denied myself any food since I had my braces put on - popcorn, hard stuff, etc. The only things I've denied myself are things I physically can't eat (e.g. because I can't bite down too hard at the moment).

#21 Post by **SnowSara** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:25 am

Once the newness of the braces wore off I treated my teeth exactly the same as I did pre-braces. I chewed gum, ate popcorn and crunchy foods, brushed my teeth twice daily and flossed whenever I made time, which honestly wasn't that often. I was waiting for a bracket or wire to pop, but it never happened. I could have been more careful with popcorn, I'm lucky that I didn't get a gum infection or anything. Those shells can really hide in there! I'm one of those people that would often forget I even had braces, they just became so ho-hum and normal.

But yeah, the only difference between then and now (no braces) is that I'm back to flossing much more often since it's so much easier again! FREEDOM!

#22 Post by ***melissa*** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:06 pm

Any of you guys that eat whatever you want - do you eat popcorn? I am new to braces, and am terrified to try the no no foods....and am dying to eat some popcorn again. I miss it dearly. SOo, should I or no????

#23 Post by **SnowSara** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:08 pm

As you get used to your braces I think you can "feel" their limitations. I couldn't bite directly into an apple because it was physically impossible, but I ate popcorn with no problem. I'm not going to tell you, "YES, go eat popcorn NOW!" because there are reasons it's not recommended and I certainly don't want to be the one to blame if you do have a problem!
But if you're daring, carefully try some and see if it's worth the cleanup time. (You think it's tough getting popcorn shells out of normal teeth, it's even worse with all those brackets and wires for them to hide, too.)

#24 Post by **kirjax** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:28 pm

hmm I really thought for sure I'd be bad about it all but I'm not.

Haven't had gum once...although I wasn't much of a gum chewer before. And I floss EVERYDAY....there has only been maybe 3x I haven't and that was probably because I was too tired and didn't feel like it. But I can't stand not flossing and I floss more now then I did before braces.

I only brush though about 2x a day unless it calls for more if I'm going out or ate something that is really caught up in the braces.

As far as food I still have trouble eating things like bagles and italian rolls because biting into them I'm fearful of snapping a bracket. But other then that I haven't limited myself....minus hard candy and things like granola I've kind of cut back on. so all in all I've done pretty good by doing what they've said and hopefully in the end my treatment will stay on time.

#25 Post by **kirjax** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:29 pm

hmm I really thought for sure I'd be bad about it all but I'm not.

Haven't had gum once...although I wasn't much of a gum chewer before. And I floss EVERYDAY....there has only been maybe 3x I haven't and that was probably because I was too tired and didn't feel like it. But I can't stand not flossing and I floss more now then I did before braces.

I only brush though about 2x a day unless it calls for more if I'm going out or ate something that is really caught up in the braces.

As far as food I still have trouble eating things like bagles and italian rolls because biting into them I'm fearful of snapping a bracket. But other then that I haven't limited myself....minus hard candy and things like granola I've kind of cut back on. so all in all I've done pretty good by doing what they've said and hopefully in the end my treatment will stay on time.

#26 Post by **Gennel** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:41 pm

For the first 7 months or so I brushed 4 times a day ,used the waterpik 2 times a day,flossed 1 a day,

Now after being braced for 1.5 yrs . I brush twice a day ,sometimes three
I floss about 2-3 times a week and I use the waterpik only once a day before bedtime.

I know not everyone needs to floss that often but I've found out I'm one of a few that MUST floss at least twice a week. My dentist told me that some people just have an over production of bacteria in their mouth.She's also had many patients that don't floss at all and have very healthy teeth....

I eat everything that I enjoyed before braces. I do stay away from super crunchy foods after adjustments just because my teeth are so tender...

Gennel

#27 Post by **KathyC** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:04 pm

I have had my braces since October. At first I brushed after every meal but that didn't last very long. Now I brush sometimes 3 times a day but mostly twice. I do floss every day but I floss my bottom teeth one day and my top teeth the next day, etc. That takes less time in my routine at night before bed. I eat everything that I did before, including most of the things on the "Do Not Eat" list, including nuts. I use Listerine every morning and Phos-Flur (floride rinse) every night. I also have a Water-Pik but I don't use it every day. When I went for my last adjustment my Ortho said that it looked like I was taking good care of my teeth. I'll have to wait and see what my dentist says when I make that appointment. I'm due to go soon.