Brushing in Public Bathroom

[JillD]

I never used a public bathroom to brush my teeth while I had braces on. Now that I am supposed to wear retainers 24/7 for a half year, I have to be more diligent about keeping my teeth clean all the time so I may have to use it sometimes, especially on my pending couple of trips.

Do you use a public bathroom to brush or floss your teeth sometimes? How can you make it discreet and short?

[Pondemoz]

I've only had to do it once and honestly? My teeth were to sore for me to care about anyone else or what they might be thinking. Having said that, that particular restroom had only one sink, so I ha to do some mad dash brushing.

[MrsCharisma]

I have and I hate it. It feels so gross!

When I MUST use a public restroom I don't floss properly, I use my interdental brush to get out as much as I can and then brush. I'd rather floss in my car (while my husband drives of course ) than floss in a public restroom.

[NeilH]

I'm travelling quite a lot at the moment and have to frequently use airport bathrooms to brush my teeth. At first it really used to bother me but after a while I came to the conclusion that no one knows me and as it's an airport its highly likely I would ever bump into them again so might as well just get on with it. I tend to avoid busy times with people queuing up to use the hand basins and have found that generally I can clean my teeth in public with very cause for concern. I also tend to plan around meals so that I'm not caught somewhere where I can't brush my teeth immediately after eating - I would rather go without than that!

[TMJJill]

I wore a splint for 2 years that I had to wear while eating. I used to brush my teeth, and the splint, in public bathrooms. It needed to be done. If the bathroom was nasty though, sometimes I'd wipe the splint with a napkin, rinse my mouth well and brush when I got a chance. I'm like Neil with the rest. It is my business and I needed to do what I had to.

Watch out for those automatic sensor sinks though. It is almost impossible to use them. I'd keep one hand in front of the sensor and tried to clean the splint one-handed. Otherwise, the water would go off.

I tend not to brush as much when I'm out with the braces. I rinse and use my proxabrush a lot.

[beckyboo0205]

I have traveled once since getting braces. My first time I had to brush in the airport, I was scared. ha I actually happened to find a little baby changing alcove that had a sink which worked perfectly! But the second time in the airport, I just had to suck it up and do it. There was another girl that had just gotten done brushing her teeth so I felt better about that.

[realfroggie]

I recently read an article about heart health...said it is the scrubbing, not the paste, that gets rid of the bad stuff. The article said the best for overall dental and heart health is to scrub with a dry brush and then finish up with a bit of paste for freshness and fluoride.

With that said....I carry a travel brush and often do a quick dry scrub in the car, or the elevator, or at my desk, etc...(usually have a bottle of water in the car for a quick swish too).

Beats the heck out of nothing and way better than gas station bathrooms or crowded public bathrooms. I make the world biggest mess when I brush...paste all around my 'too little' mouth...if the teeth don't fit and are crowded how am I going to daintily cram a brush full of paste in there and NOT have foam running out? LOL Not a pretty scene for public....

[djspeece]

I brush all the time in public restrooms, but really do a quick job if there is only one sink. Otherwise I ignore everyone else, and they pretty much ignore me, thinking I am some kind of nut case, which of course I am.
I brush at work a lot as well, no one really comments. Well my vp used to give me cr** about it when I had a portable waterpik, but I innocently turned to the side with it on and sprayed him and said "Were you saying something Rob?" and that was that although he did say something about "payback." I guess I have a reputation as a brusher at work -- some guy stopped in my office yesterday morning (one of the gadfly types without enough to do) and asked me if I left a toothbrush in the men's room. I looked and had mine in my little kit, but I don't think he believed me. One quick death stare and out he went.

[Sita]

Lots of times. I don't bother rushing unless there are lots of people who need to get to the sinks. It's an important task and I figure that there are worse things to be caught doing in a public bathroom. Most people don't even look at me but there have been a few who have stared as though it was the weirdest thing they have ever seen. I find a raised eyebrow and a lofty "Yes, can I help you?" works wonders with the nosy ones. The few times I've said it the staring person has immediately looked away and left as quick as they could. Another time I was stared at by a child and I just said "I have braces and I have to keep my teeth clean". She just nodded, smiled and started telling me about the cake she had for dessert. It was actually quite adorable.

[NeilH]

Argh.. Automatic sensor taps that only deliver a trickle of hot water are the worst. You end up using your spare hand to randomly wave in the general direction of the tap to keep the water flowing.

[Matilda]

Do you use a public bathroom to brush or floss your teeth sometimes? How can you make it discreet and short?

I do what I have to do. My teeth are more important to me than other people's thoughts.

[JillD]

Good to hear everyone's story.

I never brushed my teeth in a public restroom while I had braces on mainly because I took too long brushing my teeth. I was nervous about damaging any brackets, archwires, tiny cross wires or power chains so I always brushed in front of a mirror slowly and carefully. It also took long to rinse out toothpaste. I was concerned that any hint of the toothpaste trapped between the brackets would damage my teeth. So when I was at work, I just used a proxibrush and salt water to clean my mouth after lunch, so that I could be done quickly. When I was on the road, I would just wait until I could get to a hotel.

Now that I am wearing retainers, this has to change. One time when my DH and I were at a rest area on a highway, we saw an old lady putting on her retainers right after her lunch. We were like Ewww. Now I understand why she did what she did. She had to decide either to go a couple of hours without retainers or to put up with unclean teeth with retainers on. I guess wearing retainers as long as possible was more important to her and I may have to do the same occasionally.

I began to brush my teeth after lunch at work. Since my work restroom is one -person room and it takes a little less time to brush without braces on, it wasn't as bad as I thought. But yesterday when we went out for dinner, I couldn't bring myself to brushing at the restaurant restroom, so we had to come home right after dinner.

[jem]

Hi JillD,

If you have bonded retainers as well as essix, you can probably afford to slack occasionally on wearing the essix.

Like you, I have bonded and essix and my instructions for the essix are 12/7 but to try and wear it as much as possible in the daytime for the first few weeks. So when I went out for dinner on my birthday, I just left the essix at home and I was without it for about 4 hours without any problem.

Jem

[Lizzie365]

I'm always brushing my teeth in the toilets at work, at first people gave me funny looks but when they realised I have braces people don't really notice anymore.

Although if it's something that requires 'closer inspection' such as flossing or using the interdental brushes I try to use the disabled toilet... I like getting close to the mirror to have a good look at what's going on in my mouth lol

[Ciara]

If you ever want a guided tour of the public restrooms in Takamatsu, then I'm the person to ask. I have located several quite, clean restrooms where I feel comfortable brushing my teeth. I don't floss in public, though.