The Stupendous Braces Blog

For the floss they have these treaders that work pretty awesome...

For the orajel- ask your dr about this stuff..... ok i couldn't remember what it was called and spent a minute on google and its called Zilactin.... apparently it's best known for herpes but either way its a liquid and it goes on the sore and it numbs it. I have tried every kind out there cause i have a lot of canker sores since i have the braces on the back of my teeth (i literally bathe my tongue in stuff) kanka liquid burns like you are going to die and burn in Hades. orajel gel works ok but doesn't last nearly as long as the zilactin.

For the wax I am still failing putting it on but it does help if your fingers are wet, more wet than your mouth/brackets. My problem with having it on is because I do have lingual brackets you can't see the wax, but I can't speak very well.

Good times right?! Good luck with the next couple of days!

For the sores - I think ambesol worked better and periodically rinse your mouth out with warm salt water. You'll get used to it and it'll eventually stop.

For floss... I didnt like the threaders but if you can't find what i'm about to suggest then its your best option, but GUM makes a "super floss" or something of the sort FOR lucky people who have braces (note, sarcasm LOL) its got a stiff floss part that you can poke through the braces, a spongy part to clean the braces and then a normal floss to do your typical flossing. They're separate pieces and the box comes in I believe 50. They were only a few $$ and I found them in the aisle where they have the floss & ambesol & wax... I also like those disposable bristle brushes too made by G.U.M.

Hi Rynne! Something clicked this morning and I was finally able to get the wax on like I liked it. I have to roll a tiny bit of wax in my hands to warm it up really well and then stick it right on the bracket. Before I would flatten it out a bit and it just ended up like a gummy mess. It is doing a lot better so I don't think I need to get the herpes stuff yet, but definitely making a notation of it.

Kelley, the saltwater works really well. I was fortunate to catch the sores before they became THE canker sores, so I think that helped a lot. I'm going to try and floss again tonight, my teeth are just too tight, but going to just try and see what I can get this time. I will definitely look into the super floss since the other ribbon styles don't work. We are lucky to have braces haha, but hey our smiles will be perfect when we get these things off!

It'll all be worth it! Oh I did double check and its definitely called "Super Floss" and its by Oral-B (I think.. lol) or G U M. Can't miss it.. its a 2" x 4" box kinda sorta