Can't drink without swishing

[Catpotat]

Hi guys, just wanted to share that I cannot drink anything without first swishing it around my mouth.
Especially after a meal, when I have food particles stuck in my braces and go for a drink of water to dislodge it all.
This probably looks disgusting in public. Any thoughts, similar experiences or advice?
I don't know if there's anything I can do other than leave it until I can excuse myself to the bathroom :<

[EWUgal15]

I did this all the time when I had braces. If people made funny looks at me, I made funny looks back while I continued to swish...then I'd smile and show off my braces, then continue to looks for any food that might still be stuck while making eye contact with the people that stared. They got the point and gave up trying to make me look rude. But I was never ashamed to swish water at the table.

[verso]

When I'm alone, I swish. When I'm with friends or in public, I excuse myself to the bathroom. Just feel like it's the polite thing to do and swishing water around in your mouth is poor manners like picking your teeth.

Braces aren't anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, and neither are dentures. But if someone took their dentures out at the dinner table and dunked them in their glass of water, wouldn't YOU want to gag? I know I would!

[jaime]

I swish liquid in public. Sometimes I'll use my fist to cover my mouth but after 28 months, my personal philosophy at this point is "fudge" it!

[whitney555]

I swish all the time, so much so that it's become a habit where I'll swish whatever I'm drinking. Usually it's water, which is refreshing, but sometimes it's coffee, which is gross. Whoops! I'm not shy about swishing because it's a lot less gross than going in and picking stuff out (which I still do in public all the time, but usually as a last resort).

It's so uncomfortable to have food stuck in your teeth all the time! I definitely prioritize my physical comfort over other people's social comfort.

[JCloNY]

Most of my friends have had braces so they are understanding of the need to swish. They also know the swishing is an attempt to avoid breaching out one of the mini-brushes so they are ok with it. As for folks at other tables I could care less. I see stranger things in New York.

[verso]

Guess I'm in the minority! To be sure, swishing is somewhere far at the bottom on the list of impolite things a person could conceivably do, but I still feel like it's sort of gross. But hey, that's me. I'll excuse myself to the bathroom, and you guys swish away! Just don't pick your nose in front of me, and I think we'll be fine.

[autumnl]

Glad to see I'm not alone! I swish all the time- so much that I think it's an involuntary thing now. I do drink the occassional soda and I end up swishing with sugar

[verso]

^ If you're going to swish, for the love of God don't do it with soda or coffee. Can we at least agree upon that???

Look, it doesn't matter to me what you swish with. It's your teeth, and who knows just how much of a difference it will make, if any, but I can't imagine that *swishing* with dark, sugary beverages could be better for you than not. It can only be worse for your teeth, however minutely.

Man, I ate popcorn the other day -- well, more like sucked on it -- and I thought *I* was being a badass. You guys are swishing and gargling and brushing your teeth with coffee!

[kpw818]

Hi guys, just wanted to share that I cannot drink anything without first swishing it around my mouth.
Especially after a meal, when I have food particles stuck in my braces and go for a drink of water to dislodge it all.
This probably looks disgusting in public. Any thoughts, similar experiences or advice?
I don't know if there's anything I can do other than leave it until I can excuse myself to the bathroom :<

I do it all the time subconsciously. Eh, I figure it is better than having food in the braces?

[SingleJawMelb]

Oh people notice ?

[bbsadmin]

I used to swish all the time when I had braces. It's a necessity because food debris gets stuck all the time. As long as you're not exaggerating the swishing and doing it rather discreetly, I don't see why it's a problem at all!

[LisainTX]

With practice I have found that I can swish pretty well without using much water and targeting an area. I sometimes just put my napkin up to my mouth for a brief moment. Friends don't mind and I don't think from a distance it is very noticeable. If its a lot of food I will definitely get up and go to restroom just for my own sanity. Rice is NOT my friend.....

[verso]

^ Yeah rice is tough. It's like rice was made for getting stuck in braces

[friendlyturtle]

I always drink (and inevitably swish) a bottle of water after eating to help get rid of particles. So far nobody has given me nasty looks or have even cared at all, though I do try to keep it low key because it can look weird. :)