Honestly, I used to do the same—skip the extras on sore days—but then my ortho warned me about stuff getting stuck under the wires. Now, even when my ...

I’m with you on the apple slicing. I tried biting into a whole one once post-crown and felt like I was playing dental roulette. Not worth the stress, ...

Yeah, my first week with braces I thought I was supposed to scrub like I was cleaning a barbecue grill. That little red light totally called me out. N...

Yeah, my taste buds totally went on strike after every adjustment. I’d eat pizza and it’d taste like cardboard for a bit—zero fun. The pressure was li...

Honestly, I started using a tongue scraper after getting my braces, thinking it’d be some magical fix for dragon breath (spoiler: not quite). It does ...

I get what you mean, but honestly, I’ve missed a few nighttime brushes (don’t tell my orthodontist) and it hasn’t been total disaster. I think it depe...

I get the whole “make it non-negotiable” thing, but honestly, that’s never worked in my house. My kid just digs in her heels harder. What actually hel...

I totally feel you on the garlic bread—some things are just sacred, teeth stains be damned, lol. I did professional whitening once too, and yeah, sens...

Haha, totally relate to this. Bubblegum toothpaste was basically candy in a tube when I was little—pretty sure I swallowed more than I brushed with it...

Haha, tomato basil and grilled cheese was my go-to combo too—though I got lazy and just tore the sandwich apart with my fingers instead of cutting it ...

Rinsing definitely helps—I usually swish gently for about 30 seconds to a minute, nothing too intense. Honestly, I learned the hard way that colder wa...

Totally agree with the avocado suggestion, it's been a lifesaver for me too. Another thing that's helped a bit is freezing yogurt into little cubes—so...