Metal Mouth Message Board

I met a wonderful lady in the mall and we started talking braces. Hmmm, how did we get on that subject-she had an attractive metal smile-haha!

After a while about talking about the normal stuff it switched to food getting stuck and things like that and she pulled out these toothpicks.

www.brushpicks.com

They are great and I have them in my emergency Denta-Kit.

The site has different suppliers/grocery stores etc.

I saw these at CVS the other day. I couldn't figure out how they were used.

Is there instructions?

I can't imagine that you shove it between your teeth.

Am I being "stupid"? :-7 I will buy almost anything...once...but this just didn't make sence to me.

JennieLee,

Buy it once. A fellow brace wearer toldme that tootpicks will be your best friend. A proxy brush has also been a great help. This is kind of like a hybrid between the two. The toothpick part is narrower and fits in better between the teeth. The other end is very flexible and will get chunks of food better from the braces than the toothpick end.

I now will not go anywhere without them (and my Dentakit. of course).

You will understand thismuch better after 4/4/2005. I will be thinking of you on that day and hoping that you have minimal pain the days after.

Keep in touch and let me know if there is anything I can do!

I love the brush picks, and have used them for the last six months, since discovering them. They work much better, in my opinion, than the proxy brushes, which tend to bend and break and not fit into tight spaces.

The brushpicks do a great job of clearing food debris both between the teeth (using the brush or serrated end) and between braces and the teeth (using the brush end).

I think Lynn should add a pack of these to those handy little DentaKits she sells. For anyone new to braces, I recommend that you purchase a DentaKit from Lynn. I got one before getting braces and it continues to be a great asset to me since I'm on the go a lot. I carry mine everywhere.

The Brushpiks were great when I was in braces. They flex to get under the archwire and get gunk out without you having to worry about damaging the braces or archwire. I always got them at Eckerd and they come in pink, light blue, and light green.

Okay now that I have the braces on, I love the brush picks. I bought two boxes. Green for home and pink for the car.

My daugher tried one (she, also has braces) and was annoyed with me for not getting them for her sooner.

This is a doo-dad that is so essential!

I find the brushpiks are good for removing a glob of food that is stuck between the wire and teeth when I am not able to brush. Otherwise, I am careful using them, they are very sharp. At home I find using a Butler Gum Stimulator with the rubber tip very useful for the same purpose. It is also great for removing wax that may have stuck in the brackets.

What I love are the teeny proxy-style brushes that Butler Gum makes. They are called "Go-Betweens". They are tiny, have a little brush on the end and the cap extends the handle when you remove it and snap it on the end of the handle. The brush itself is flexible so it bends as you use it and it won't get jammed or stuck in your braces. You can scrub all around the bracket and remove any "stuff" that may remain even after brushing with a toothbrush. I don't have any gaps, but it would be good for cleaning between them too IMO.

It's funny, I knew about this product last year but tried it and didn't like it very much. It seemed too flexible and wouldn't dislodge the food very well because it got easily bent. But I guess you guys have different experiences!