That rock-chewing feeling is all too familiar. I remember back when I had braces, I’d wake up and swear my jaw had been in a wrestling match overnight. Tried the warm salt water trick—helped a bit, but not a miracle. Did anyone else find that chewing on a cold, wet washcloth before bed soothed things? Also, curious if that mouthguard made it harder to breathe at night? I always worried it’d feel bulky.
Honestly, the mouthguard thing bugged me way more than the pain from the braces themselves. I tried one of those bulky ones and just couldn’t get used to it—kept feeling like I was gonna choke if I rolled onto my back. Never tried the cold washcloth, but frozen grapes were my go-to. Did you ever mess with those silicone wax strips? They helped with the bracket pokes but not so much the jaw ache...
Yeah, the mouthguard was a total no-go for me too—felt like I was wearing a snorkel to bed. I swear by frozen blueberries (less sticky than grapes), but I gotta say, those wax strips were hit or miss. Sometimes they’d just fall off and I’d find them stuck to my pillow in the morning... For jaw pain, honestly, nothing helped except just whining about it and eating mashed potatoes for three days straight.
Mashed potatoes are basically the MVP of braces food, right? I totally get what you mean about the wax strips—sometimes they worked, sometimes it was just a sticky mess. Have you tried cold cucumber slices for jaw pain? They helped me a bit, though maybe it was just the distraction. Hang in there...it really does get easier after a while.
Cold cucumber slices? That’s a new one for me—might have to give it a shot. Honestly, I swear by frozen grapes. They numb everything and taste way better than wax, which, yeah, half the time just ends up stuck to your teeth anyway. Mashed potatoes are definitely up there, but sometimes I just wanted anything with a little crunch...even if I regretted it later.