So, I've gone to Burning Man for a couple years. I'm thinking of going this year... but I've run into a bit of a quandry. I have braces.
So I'm curious to know if any of you have gone "serious camping" -- like hiked the appalacian trail, gone backpacking for several days, the sort of "pack it in and pack it out" camping where you can't plug your waterpik into the cigarette lighter of your car or RV.
Also there is no air conditioning in the desert. (it is 104 in the day, and 40 at night) so waxes may melt... the whole place is built on an alkaline lake-bed, with dust finer than drywall-dust... ready to get stuck into everything. Strange foods, and no orthodonists for 5+hours... brushing your teeth normally can be complicated, much less a 3 minute routine, and the finer points of hygiene.
Has anyone done such a thing? and have any tips and tricks? I'd hate to miss it, but if it means sitting in the heat/woods with stank teeth for 10 days, I might not want to go.
Serious camping in braces.
Moderator: bbsadmin
The risks of extreme activities don't change with getting braces. And you can brush and floss and massage your gums without much water. Sure something might break, but it might not be your braces, and you still have the same distance issues. If you've gone before, you know what to expect, so plan reasonably and have a great time!
Agreed. I did plenty of backpacking and camping with braces and didn't really think much of it. Bring some extra supplies and have fun!
Yeah, you'll have to leave your waterpic behind, lol.
Yeah, you'll have to leave your waterpic behind, lol.
All Metal Uppers and Lowers - brackets placed with OrthoCAD
Braces on 2/1/2007, Removed 2/13/2008, now in Essix retainers.
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Tin Indian
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Miss Smiley
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I have an irrigating syringe from the OS office, see if your dental office has one for extractions. I use it when I'm too lazy to bust out the waterpik. Most of the time, when I'm going away and need to travel light, I just take my toothbrush, proxabrush, toothpaste, orthosil, and floss. 10 days of not keeping up with your A+ brushing routine shouldn't hurt as long as you have the essentials.
Upper and lower 1st premolars extracted
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
I was 5 days camping with no electricity, running water (other than the river), etc. It did not interfere with my having braces.
One tip: I did all the major cleaning in the light of day, because torch or firelight didn't quite light up my mouth sufficiently to see what I was doing!
Yes, go and have fun on your camp.
One tip: I did all the major cleaning in the light of day, because torch or firelight didn't quite light up my mouth sufficiently to see what I was doing!
Yes, go and have fun on your camp.
Last edited by lionfish on Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Way Too Old For This
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reversedgaze
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Orthodonic Braces at Burning Man
Follow up: Orthodontic Braces at Burning Man
I've googled and nobody talked about it, so this is my follow-up on the experience: I had a great time. I embraced my inner 14 yr old, and rocked out.
Oddly enough my wax didn't melt! I kept it in my day-pack, and it was a cooler-windier year, so the temp wasn't too bad. I did however take a tip and use the silicone wax, which I stuck on for as long as I could after a good fresh brushing, and left it there for as long as possible - since changing wax every time you eat, or accept a gift of food is way more fidgeting than I was inclined to mess with.
The bonus here is that the alkaline lakebed that the event is held on is a low-bacteria zone... and since you breath, and eat a ton of the alkali dust - and changing the PH, having really stinky breath wasn't so much of a problem-- or it so it seemed. ( the downside is that things don't heal- so avoiding mouth sores was Really important)
The things that were really important were staying uber hydrated (camelback with dilute electrolyte drink) and slathered in chapstick... but that is par for the course in desert camping. But without that water, and silicone wax, I'd have had bleeding cheeks! (I'd not been using wax for the preceding weeks)
And since this is an issue, for adults who choose a chemically enhanced experience, having chewing gum was really important, not really for chewing, but to serve as an emergency buffer and bite guard. Chew it until it hardens a bit, and ball it up and then bite on it with your rear teeth on one side, and I found it helpful to have that so I didn't chew on my own mouth.... not to mention this came in handy when I was stressed out or climbing on scaffolding... the buffer likely kept me from popping a bracket, or grinding my teeth, or even popping off the wax... which would slow me down!
Brushing Teeth was complicated as unlike being in the woods or whatnot, there is no "just spit behind that tree" you CANNOT do this on the playa. It leaves a huge mess that must be cleaned up by you, your campmates or a hardworking volunteer -- like the DPW. All greywater including toothpaste spit must be evaporated, or packed out (or pumped out by an RV truck) -- I was fortunate enough to be a part of a a camp that had a grey-water tank. But if I was camping alone, I would bring along a blacklined bucket, for my own personal evaporation, and use an old water jug to pack-out any residue - loose bits of ortho-wax, food particles, floss, etc...
The cool thing is that people were totally fascinated with the braces... and I got to channel that energy and run around like a kid. People were constantly asking me to smile for them, and I had a blast.
I've googled and nobody talked about it, so this is my follow-up on the experience: I had a great time. I embraced my inner 14 yr old, and rocked out.
Oddly enough my wax didn't melt! I kept it in my day-pack, and it was a cooler-windier year, so the temp wasn't too bad. I did however take a tip and use the silicone wax, which I stuck on for as long as I could after a good fresh brushing, and left it there for as long as possible - since changing wax every time you eat, or accept a gift of food is way more fidgeting than I was inclined to mess with.
The bonus here is that the alkaline lakebed that the event is held on is a low-bacteria zone... and since you breath, and eat a ton of the alkali dust - and changing the PH, having really stinky breath wasn't so much of a problem-- or it so it seemed. ( the downside is that things don't heal- so avoiding mouth sores was Really important)
The things that were really important were staying uber hydrated (camelback with dilute electrolyte drink) and slathered in chapstick... but that is par for the course in desert camping. But without that water, and silicone wax, I'd have had bleeding cheeks! (I'd not been using wax for the preceding weeks)
And since this is an issue, for adults who choose a chemically enhanced experience, having chewing gum was really important, not really for chewing, but to serve as an emergency buffer and bite guard. Chew it until it hardens a bit, and ball it up and then bite on it with your rear teeth on one side, and I found it helpful to have that so I didn't chew on my own mouth.... not to mention this came in handy when I was stressed out or climbing on scaffolding... the buffer likely kept me from popping a bracket, or grinding my teeth, or even popping off the wax... which would slow me down!
Brushing Teeth was complicated as unlike being in the woods or whatnot, there is no "just spit behind that tree" you CANNOT do this on the playa. It leaves a huge mess that must be cleaned up by you, your campmates or a hardworking volunteer -- like the DPW. All greywater including toothpaste spit must be evaporated, or packed out (or pumped out by an RV truck) -- I was fortunate enough to be a part of a a camp that had a grey-water tank. But if I was camping alone, I would bring along a blacklined bucket, for my own personal evaporation, and use an old water jug to pack-out any residue - loose bits of ortho-wax, food particles, floss, etc...
The cool thing is that people were totally fascinated with the braces... and I got to channel that energy and run around like a kid. People were constantly asking me to smile for them, and I had a blast.
I do a ton of camping on extended weekends when I go racing (far from home). I usually just brush my teeth twice a day, and haven't had any problems. Even though I have a generator, I never bring my waterpik. I always travel with my tools, so I've never worried about an archwire poking out....nothing some wire cutters can't take care of! I've heard that you can snip an archwire with a pair of nail clippers, so you might want to bring a set of those.