Cutting the wax in half is smart, I do that too since I go through it way faster than I expected. I get nervous about running out, especially if I’m not close to home. I tried the silicone covers once but honestly, they just made my mouth feel weird and I worried about swallowing a piece by accident. Drying the bracket first helps, but sometimes my cheeks still get raw. I’ve tried rinsing with warm salt water at night and it seems to help a bit with the soreness, but I’m still paranoid it’s going to get worse. Anyone else freak out about that?
Oh man, I totally get the paranoia about running out of wax. I used to hoard those little boxes like they were gold. Tried the silicone covers too and had the same weird mouth-feel—like chewing a rubber band, honestly. One weird thing that helped me was dabbing a tiny bit of coconut oil on the sore spots. It didn’t fix everything, but seemed to soothe things for a bit. Still, nothing really beats just waiting for your cheeks to toughen up... which takes forever, ugh.
I used to hoard those little boxes like they were gold.
I get the appeal of coconut oil for soothing, but I’d be a bit careful with that. Oils can sometimes trap bacteria if you’re not rinsing a lot, and that could make things worse. Wax is definitely tried-and-true, even if it’s annoying to run out. I always tell people to avoid anything too sticky or oily near the brackets. Honestly, patience is rough, but your cheeks do adapt eventually... just wish it happened faster.
Wax is definitely tried-and-true, even if it’s annoying to run out.
Yeah, I’ve already gone through two boxes in like a week. I keep thinking I’m doing something wrong because my cheeks are still so raw. I tried coconut oil once (my mom swears by it for everything), but it just felt weird and kinda made my mouth taste funny. I get what you mean about patience—every time I think it’s getting better, I wake up with new sore spots. Does anyone else chew on the inside of their cheek by accident? That’s been a whole new problem for me.
I totally get the cheek biting thing—honestly, it’s almost like my mouth is trying to sabotage me. I’ve caught myself doing it especially when I’m stressed or distracted, and then it just gets worse because the sore spots never get a chance to heal. Sometimes I wonder if it’s actually the braces or just my own bad habits making it harder.
I’ve tried the wax and I go through it super fast too. I even started cutting the strips in half to make them last longer, but then they don’t cover as well. There was a point where I thought about using something else, like Vaseline, but I chickened out because I wasn’t sure if it was safe to have that in my mouth all day. Did anyone ever get advice from their orthodontist about what’s okay to use besides the standard wax?
The coconut oil thing is interesting—I’ve heard people use it for “oil pulling” but I can’t imagine swishing that around with braces. I’m curious if anyone’s actually had luck with something less sticky or less weird-tasting than wax. Or maybe I’m just being too picky.
Also, does anyone else notice the inside of their cheeks get kind of tough after a while? Like, almost calloused? I’m hoping that’s normal and not a sign I’m doing something wrong. I always worry I’m not cleaning well enough or I’m missing some trick that would make this less miserable.
Has anyone tried those silicone covers instead of wax? I saw them online but wasn’t sure if they’re any better or just another thing to get stuck in my teeth.
