I'm a 40-something mom who has been waiting her whole life for ortho treatment and as of 5 days ago, my dream has come true! Both of my kids are (mostly) grown and have completed treatment. I'm also a board certified dental assistant with training in ortho (although I've not worked in that specialty).
I have a narrow, vaulted palate, mild upper crowding and moderate lower crowding, and a bilateral posterior cross bite. I'm in full ortho using the Damon system. I have had ZERO tooth pain, just a wee bit of soreness on my LL1 which is tied in for protrusion. I have elastics going from buttons on the linguals of the upper 6's down to hooks on the buccals of the lowers 6's. The only really bad parts so far are the lingual buttons (shredding my tongue) and the coil springs (shredding the soft tissue). I have 1 big canker sore but it's already healing in less than a week.
My hygiene routine is pretty intense. I'm using a manual orthodontic toothbrush eight now but I'm ordering a new Sonicare from our rep on my next paycheck. My old Sonicare finally gave out and I have an Oral-B that was free from our rep but I pretty much hate it. I use Cocofloss everyday and always get really deep down under the gums. I try to oil pull in the morning and rinse with H2O2 at night. I have all sorts of proxibrushes to get behind the coil springs. My ortho gave me Clinpro but I haven't really used it. I'm wary and skeptical of fluoride but if I have any really nagging sensitivity I will probably use a bit of it here and there, or maybe some varnish at work.
intro
Moderator: bbsadmin
Re: intro
I spend the longest at night. Probably 30 minutes with water flossing, regular flossing and brushing. Maybe 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon. My orthodontist prescribed a fluoride toothpaste you use at night and don't rinse afterwards.
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straightandnarrow
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat Nov 03, 2018 9:42 pm
Re: intro
[quote=Speck post_id=505409 time=1541347428 user_id=32114]
Welcome!
How much time each day do you spend on oral hygiene while in braces?
And, why are you wary and skeptical of fluoride?
[/quote]
Wow, I've been busy! This is my first chance in weeks to come back here.
I could easily spend 30 minutes on oral hygiene each night. In general, I tend to eat an almost purely ketogenic diet (I've been doing this for the better part of the last 2 decades). In fact, I drink a keto shake for breakfast and lunch at work because I don't want to wast half my lunch break brushing and flossing. So I really only chew solid food in the evening and what I do eat is 100% non-substantive (doesn't stick to teeth and form plaque). I have an assortment of brushes including a Sonicare and an Oral-B Genius. I also have a tuft brush to get way in the back and some AMAZING random manual ortho brush from Asia (eBay).
What all that means is that I have been able to skip a day or two flossing here and there. When I do floss, I form a C-shape and go as deep into the sulcus as I can. I have zero bleeding. Keeping my diet strict is helping my overall health (no more fibromyalgia pain!) and making OH so much easier!
I'm still having no pain, no gingival tenderness, and the buttons aren't stabbing my tongue anymore since the molars have tipped out.
As for fluoride, the info is out there. Everyone has to decide for themselves and I would use varnish if I was having sensitivity where I have recession. I don't use fluoride for caries prevention because it isn't necessary and with my family's low caries risk level, the risks of fluoride do not outweigh any potential benefits.
Welcome!
How much time each day do you spend on oral hygiene while in braces?
And, why are you wary and skeptical of fluoride?
[/quote]
Wow, I've been busy! This is my first chance in weeks to come back here.
I could easily spend 30 minutes on oral hygiene each night. In general, I tend to eat an almost purely ketogenic diet (I've been doing this for the better part of the last 2 decades). In fact, I drink a keto shake for breakfast and lunch at work because I don't want to wast half my lunch break brushing and flossing. So I really only chew solid food in the evening and what I do eat is 100% non-substantive (doesn't stick to teeth and form plaque). I have an assortment of brushes including a Sonicare and an Oral-B Genius. I also have a tuft brush to get way in the back and some AMAZING random manual ortho brush from Asia (eBay).
What all that means is that I have been able to skip a day or two flossing here and there. When I do floss, I form a C-shape and go as deep into the sulcus as I can. I have zero bleeding. Keeping my diet strict is helping my overall health (no more fibromyalgia pain!) and making OH so much easier!
I'm still having no pain, no gingival tenderness, and the buttons aren't stabbing my tongue anymore since the molars have tipped out.
As for fluoride, the info is out there. Everyone has to decide for themselves and I would use varnish if I was having sensitivity where I have recession. I don't use fluoride for caries prevention because it isn't necessary and with my family's low caries risk level, the risks of fluoride do not outweigh any potential benefits.