do you brush after everytime you eat? i find this impossibl

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#1 Post by **24braceface** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:26 am

it's basically impossible for me. i'm out and about all day and have to eat. i think it's gross to brush in a public restroom *barf*

i wish i could brush after every snack or meal but when out in public and not close to home i just can't. i was trying not to eat when i wasn't at home but now i'm on a diet which requires me to eat at certain times. the invisalign is so frustrating!!

how do you handle eating out in public? do you always brush after eating? share your story

#2 Post by **Spooky Tooth** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:28 am

Lunch is definitely the trickiest meal to work around. Luckily, at work, I have an office with a real door. I floss in the office then do a very quick teeth-brushing and rinsing of the trays in a public restroom. I'll go back to the office to reinsert the trays.

It is nasty and gets a few looks if there is anyone else in the restroom. But I figure that's the price I have to pay (beyond the $6,300). To minimize my paranoia, I use an out-of-the way restroom and try to time my brushing so that the restroom won't be too crowded. I work at a university and so make sure that I never brush between classes when lots of students will be going in and out.

#3 Post by **Lilypad** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 3:30 pm

Well, ya gotta admit some of the public bathrooms are pretty gross. I learned to brush while holding everything in my hands. I always carried a bottle of water in my car for the times when I just couldnt bring myself to brush in a public bathroom. I was never bothered by brushing in front of strangers, but the thought of all those germs kinda got to me a few times. It was a minor inconvenience for me. I even brushed at one of those outside temporary hand washing stations at the fair!

#4 Post by **Lilypad** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:29 pm

Ha Ha Ha Meryaten, you would never think "irrational" if you had seen the bathroom I happened to stop at in Mississippi!

Of course, that was an extreme situation. Again, I stress it's all about ATTITUDE! I think when you want something so bad for so long, you are willing to do what it takes to accomplish that goal. I brushed everywhere, anywhere and at any time to keep my teeth safe. But...I'm still not liking these Essix...After the perfect fit of the Invisalign, they feel like ummm....ummm HALLOWEEN TEETH!......BOO!

#5 Post by **Lilypad** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 10:02 pm

LOL @ clamped between the knees....so yea, you have been there.

#6 Post by **Sofie** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:50 am

I brush after lunch at work and I find it comical how people look at me as if brushing my teeth is a crime.

#7 Post by **HeatherS** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:55 pm

I've gotten extremely lazy with my aligners. For the first couple of aligners I brushed my teeth religiously after ever meal or snack. Now...not so much. I generally do a quick brush when I wake up and a thorough brush at night and thats it. It between time I'm at college and go straight to work so I don't have a lot of time for brushing. I could make the time...but to be honest I just don't care. When I eat in between brushings I try to rinse my mouth out as best as possible with water and then just put the aligners back in. I drink a lot of diet coke throughout the day also so I usually keep a bottle of water with me to periodically rinse. I just went to my dentist for a checkup last week and he said as long as you rinse every so often your teeth will be okay; I haven't gotten an cavities so far. Well, if you like to feel like you have a clean mouth then you should probably brush after eating, but if you don't really care then I think you're fine.

#8 Post by **Wobblydeb** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:02 am

I have a small bag which fits inside my handbag and has my cleaning kit in it. There's a travel toothbrush, mini tube of toothpaste, mini mouthwash, floss and container for my trays.

I brush after every meal, and have found I've cut down my snacking because I am getting so sick of brushing! Work is fine - the facilities are spacious, clean and pretty quiet.

Outside of work, I've seen me balancing my little bag in all sorts of places - including a portaloo at a country fair.

I would rather clean my teeth than avoid a toilet.

Why not carry some of that "no water" antiseptic handwash with you?

#9 Post by **24braceface** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:03 am

What do you all mean a fair type setting? A fair as in carnival?

It's just all so time consuming for me. I also brush my aligners because if I don't they feel icky. I also fear they'll make my breath stink.

#10 Post by **Wobblydeb** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:12 am

24braceface wrote:What do you all mean a fair type setting? A fair as in carnival?

It's just all so time consuming for me. I also brush my aligners because if I don't they feel icky. I also fear they'll make my breath stink.

Yep, a kind of carnival - an event for countryside activities, like sheep and cattle competitions, hunter trials and terrier racing

I am finding it pretty time consuming too - that's why I've cut down on the snacking. I don't like to have them in without cleaning them after eating. The only thing I've done is have a couple of nights' out drinking beer with them in. I didn't want 3-4 hours without them in, but equally I didn't want to turn down a social evening...

I have to brush the aligners too - they get fuzzy otherwise. I also pop them in with a denture cleaning tablet a couple of times in the fortnight to get any bits I've missed.

#11 Post by **holograms** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:48 am

Too much brushing is not good for the teeth.

I just bring along floss, mouthwash and some sugar free gum after each meal

#12 Post by **24braceface** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 5:41 pm

Interesting replies. I see a lot of people on here say that they have to cut back on snacking. I did that too but it got to where I was taking in too few calories a day. Now I have to eat more because of my diet and the invisalign makes it more complicated. Sorry to complain, but the invisalign isn't as peachy perfect as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I'm still satsified with the results and they are a heck of a lot better than wire braces.

Anyway awhile ago I saw a tv commercial that was about a product about on the go brushing. The toothbrush and toothpaste came in a neat package together and it was disposable. Does anyone know the name of this product?

#13 Post by **anastasia** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:03 pm

24 braceface: I have a compact set with toothpaste/brush from THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR (think it's called Go Travel), which is pretty small and handy. Travel sets in general are great!

The bathroom at work is nice, clean and private so I have no problems there. In public restrooms I feel kind of stupid brushing my teeth and putting the tray in, but who cares. I don't worry too much about germs, I don't put the stuff directly on the sink anyway.

I have to admit that I've become a bit lazy. If I eat or drink something sugary or stuff that sticks to my teeth I'll brush, but sometimes I'll just rinse with water and brush when it's more convenient. I do feel that I can get a bad breath real fast if I don't brush after a meal though!

#14 Post by **Flaka** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:48 am

I don't brush EVERYTIME I snack because it depends where I am, but I do brush my teeth at work as I keep a mini tooth paste and brush.
At home, I do brush everytime I finish eating speacially beacuse food get stuck all over and it bothers me. If I feel lazy to brush, I just use the waterpick and brush later. So far so good.

#15 Post by **Leelee** » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:34 pm

Haha, I was reading the responses on here and remembering when I had just started Invisalign, and had to balance flossing, using my electric toothbrush (which I bring everywhere), and putting the trays back in...and all this in a disgusting fast food bathroom, where there was one sink, and I had to get a token from the cashier to get in...Lol. Anyway, I always brush my teeth after any meal, and only floss when it's anything besides oatmeal, yogurt or something else less fibrous. So far, so good. I have had some interesting responses from co-workers like, "I bet your dentist is proud", "I wake my husband up in the morning with my electric toothbrush, so when he gets up to brush his teeth with his manual toothbrush, he makes the [electric toothbrush noise] as he brushes," and "don't you just love those [electric toothbrushes]. I keep trying to get my son to use them, but he just won't." I even had a traditional braces wearer asking me about how long my treatment would be, and expressing lament that she still had 2 years to go. All in all, I really don't care who sees me brushing my teeth. The way I see it, they're my teeth, and I want to keep them cavity-free. I'll even stare someone down if they give me a weird look in the bathroom now