I swear, I avoid popcorn now like it’s cursed...
Popcorn is the devil when you’ve got braces, no joke. The amount of times I thought I’d gotten away clean, then found a rogue kernel wedged in there hours later... yeah, not worth it. I feel you on the dental picks—those things are a lifesaver. I keep one in every bag and car cupholder at this point.
Honestly, I used to eat whatever without thinking twice, but now? Forget salad with those weird tiny leaves or sandwiches with sesame seeds. It’s like my food choices have turned into a game of “will this haunt me for the rest of the day?” Sometimes I just go for soft stuff out of pure laziness.
One thing that helped me was those little travel bottles of mouthwash. Swish and hope for the best when you’re out and can’t brush. Not perfect, but better than nothing if you’re stuck at work or whatever. Braces life is wild...
I literally just got braces last week and I’m already paranoid about everything getting stuck. Popcorn was my favorite snack, but now I’m scared to even look at it. Someone mentioned those dental picks—I bought a pack but honestly, I feel like I’m poking around blindly half the time. Is that normal? I never realized how much random stuff can hide in there... spinach is the worst so far.
Popcorn was my weakness too, so I totally get the struggle. Dental picks feel awkward at first—like you’re just guessing what you’re doing—but it actually gets easier after a while. I still have spinach flashbacks, honestly. I started using a water flosser and it’s been a game changer for getting stuff out from behind the wires. Hang in there, it gets less weird!
Popcorn is basically braces’ arch nemesis—had a patient once who swore off it entirely after a kernel got stuck for days. I’ll admit, water flossers didn’t exist back when I had braces myself, but I remember using those little proxy brushes and feeling like a medieval knight picking debris out of chain mail. Water flossers are such a relief now, especially for those stubborn bits behind the wires. It’s wild how much easier things have gotten over the years... though spinach still manages to find its way into every bracket.
- Water flossers are a total game changer, but I still keep a stash of those little proxy brushes in my bag. Sometimes tech fails—batteries die, or you forget to charge—and nothing beats the old-school tools for emergencies.
- For me, the real MVP is an electric toothbrush with an ortho head. It’s like having a tiny power washer for your teeth. Gets around the brackets way better than manual brushing ever did.
- Floss threaders? Tried them once and nearly rage quit after five minutes. Way too fiddly. Water flosser all the way for anything wedged behind wires.
- I’ve noticed sticky rice is almost as bad as popcorn, weirdly enough. Gets everywhere and then just... stays there until you wage war on it.
- Spinach is relentless. No matter what tech you throw at it, somehow there’s always a green flag waving from a bracket by the end of lunch.
- Not sure if anyone else has tried silicone-tipped picks? They’re soft enough not to wreck your gums but still scrape out the stubborn stuff.
Honestly, feels like dental gadgets have leveled up in the last decade. Still waiting on self-cleaning braces though—someone needs to invent that already...
