Oatmeal was my go-to as well, especially after dental work. Bland, yeah, but sometimes boring is exactly what your mouth needs when everything else feels like sandpaper. Eggs were tricky for me too—scrambled always seemed to stick or irritate somehow. Soft-boiled eggs did help a bit, though I found poached even gentler. Hang in there...it does get easier, and you'll be back to enjoying more flavorful meals soon enough.
"Eggs were tricky for me too—scrambled always seemed to stick or irritate somehow."
Funny, scrambled eggs were actually the easiest thing for my daughter after her braces went on. I think it might depend on how you cook them? We found that adding a bit of milk or cream and cooking them super gently on low heat made them softer and less irritating. Poached eggs, though...those were a no-go for her. She couldn't stand the texture. Guess everyone's mouth has its own quirks!
Interesting, scrambled eggs never really worked for me either when my mouth was sore. Even with milk or cream, they still felt kinda gritty or stuck to the brackets somehow...maybe it's just me being overly sensitive. What actually ended up being my comfort food were soft-boiled eggs. I'd boil them exactly 6 minutes, then dunk them straight into ice water to stop cooking. The whites stayed tender but firm enough not to feel slimy, and the yolk was creamy enough to soothe my gums without getting messy. Took some experimenting though—I definitely had a few disasters before I got it right.
Did anyone else find certain cooking methods made a big difference in comfort levels, or was it more about the type of food itself?
Totally relate to the scrambled egg struggle. I found that the cooking method made a huge difference for me too. For example, mashed potatoes were always recommended by my ortho, but regular mashed potatoes still felt weirdly sticky and uncomfortable. Eventually, I realized that thinning them out with extra butter and broth (instead of milk) made them smoother and easier to eat. Same with oatmeal—regular oatmeal was too thick and sticky, but overnight oats soaked in almond milk turned out way softer and easier on my brackets. So yeah, I think how you prep the food matters just as much as what you're eating. Took me a while to figure out my own little tricks though...lots of trial and error involved.
Totally get the oatmeal thing—overnight oats saved me too. Have you tried soups yet? Blending them smooth helped me a ton, and they're budget-friendly if you batch cook. Hang in there, it does get easier...
