The cotton trick... yeah, that's a tough one. I've had people come in with cotton stuck everywhere.
Yeah, tried that once and ended up picking bits of cotton out of my braces for days. I get super anxious about anything getting stuck, so that was a no-go for me. I did find that salt water rinses helped a bit with the raw spots, but honestly, the first two weeks were just miserable. Wax would fall off as soon as I ate anything warm. Eventually my cheeks got used to it, but I was convinced they never would.
I totally relate to the salt water rinse thing—my mouth was basically a saltwater aquarium those first couple weeks. I remember thinking the wax was going to be my savior, but yeah, one bowl of soup and it was gone. I even tried those silicone covers for braces, but they never really stuck for me.
The only thing that helped a bit (besides just waiting it out) was sticking to cold foods for a while. Popsicles and yogurt felt soothing, plus they didn’t melt the wax off immediately. Not sure if anyone else had luck with those little silicone strips? I always wondered if I was just using them wrong or if they’re just not that effective.
Did you notice your cheeks toughening up after a certain point, or was it more gradual? For me, it seemed like one day I woke up and realized I wasn’t constantly biting the inside of my mouth anymore... but maybe that’s just selective memory.
