Cutting sandwiches into tiny pieces—yep, been there. Funny how those habits linger, even when your teeth are technically “good to go.” Personally, I found fluoride rinses way more helpful than salt water too.
There’s a lot of hype around salt rinses, but I think it’s more comforting than actually effective for sensitivity. Give your mouth some time, and don’t rush the crunchy stuff. It’s wild how much your nerves need to recalibrate.“the salt water just felt... meh for me.”
Cutting food into tiny bits is such a post-braces rite of passage. I still catch myself doing it with apples sometimes, even though my teeth are fine now. About the salt water thing, I get what you mean—
Same here. It never did much except make my mouth taste weird. Fluoride rinses definitely seemed to help more with that zappy sensitivity. Honestly, it took a good couple of weeks before biting into toast didn’t make me wince. I wouldn’t rush it—your nerves need a minute to chill out after all that movement.“the salt water just felt... meh for me.”
Totally relate to the tiny food bits thing—my sandwich game was weak for a while. I never felt like the salt water did much either, honestly. The weird “zing” feeling took me by surprise most days. It does get less awkward, though... eventually your teeth just start feeling normal again.
Funny, we actually had pretty different experiences with the salt water thing. My kid’s ortho was big on it after the braces came off—said it helps with that raw, zingy sensation (especially those first few days). At first my kid said it felt pointless too, but after sticking with it for a week or so, there really was a difference. I think the trick is using it a couple times a day, not just once and done.
About the weird “zing”—yep, that’s real. My daughter described it as “tiny lightning bolts” when she breathed in cold air or bit into anything even slightly crunchy. It took about two weeks before things calmed down. We found that avoiding super cold drinks and sticking with softer foods made things way less awkward.
Honestly, everyone’s mouth seems to react differently. But if anyone’s still struggling with that sensation after a few weeks, sometimes a quick check-in with the ortho helps—my daughter ended up needing her retainer adjusted because it was rubbing in a weird spot. That made a big difference for her comfort level.
my daughter described it as “tiny lightning bolts” when she breathed in cold air or bit into anything even slightly crunchy
That’s exactly it—tiny lightning bolts is the perfect description. I’ve tried the salt water rinse thing too, but honestly, I didn’t notice much difference. Maybe I wasn’t consistent enough? The retainer adjustment part is interesting... mine actually made things worse at first, so I had to go back twice before it felt right. Super cold drinks are still a no-go for me weeks later, so maybe my mouth’s just stubborn.
