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After eating I always find there is food stuck in my braces. It might seem easy to remove the food by brushing your teeth, but at school, you can't. It can get annoying with all the food stuck in them and it just looks disgusting.
How can I remove food from my braces?
Methods I've tried:
There aren't many options to really choose...
Who says you can't brush your teeth at school? Just keep a small travel toothbrush (or brush with travel cap/tube) in your backpack and visit the bathroom after lunch. This was my dentist/orthodontist's recommendation when I had braces 10+ years ago, still a good idea today I think.
Alternatively they do sell different sizes and shapes of disposable "brushpick" style tools in the dental aisle of pharmacies/Walmart/Target, and even plain old toothpicks might work. Carry some in a plastic baggie for after lunch at school. This method is probably more time consuming.
For a very basic approach, try swishing plain old water vigorously around your mouth then spitting it out, repeating a few times. Probably will not dislodge the most stubborn food particles, but should get rid of the majority of it.
Take a small plastic baggie and put a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, toothpick, portable mirror, and another teeny brush inside of it. Take it to lunch with you. You can keep it in your pocket. Go to the bathroom after lunch and clean your teeth. I kind of basically have to do this cuz i have braces and rubber bands.
If you have long hair just take the end of your hair and use that as floss >.< I know it sounds gross but once, I ate little corn pieces with braces and a lot got stuck in my teeth where I couldn't use my nails to get it out. I got a few strands of hair and poked the food out. It worked!
Back when I had braces myself, I faced the same problem. My orthodontist recommended Oral-B Super-Floss (don't want to advertise, but I just don't know a comparable dental floss). This indeed is perfect for use with braces, but normal dental floss works as well.
As mentioned by Trish Ling you can use brushpicks as well.
These are handy and easy to carry, so perfect for your scenario at school.
At home I had some kind of "brush stick". They look like this and probably are also available in the dental section of your local store, just as brushpicks are:
There may be no new insights here, but I just wanted to share my experience and save you from searching for images.
Keep in mind: All above methods best work in front of a mirror. So if you have to go to the bathroom anyway, brushing your teeth may still be the best solution.
Maybe try using one of those whisp brushes that come with toothpaste already on them. They are small and you can throw them away when you are done. They also have a toothpick on the end which could help you too.
Use a water pick I got mine for 30$ at Walmart I have only charged it once and haven't charged it aging it's worth it
