Braceface Chronicles: The joys of public teeth brushing and discovering the Colgate "Wisp"

Not a substitute for regular brushing, but these waterless
brushes are good when out and about. Photo credit.

On a good day, I find brushing my teeth a pesky burden. The weirdo that I am, I keep a book by my bathroom sink and get at least four minutes a day of good reading in to liven things up. Since my intimate acquaintance with Invisalign began, I find myself dreading the process. The frequency is one thing--brushing is required after every sip and morsel. But the locations are quite another. Restaurant bathrooms, fastfood joint bathrooms, work bathrooms, school bathrooms, Target bathrooms, airport bathrooms. (I do draw the line at airplane bathrooms, however.)

The main issues? Besides general inconvenience, the icky factor of cleansing in a germ-soaked atmosphere is one thing. And the random reactions from strangers are another. I never considered how intimate teeth brushing is until I started doing it in public. Ladies and children stare at me as if they've never seen a girl with a toothbrush before. What is up with that?

I'm telling you, these things are tiny. If you have big mitts like me,
you'll need to practice not dropping it 14 times. Ahem.

Now I found myself quite perplexed a couple weekends ago when Mr. T and I were preparing for our annual jaunt to the Reno Air Races*. The amenities at Reno are, shall we say, rustic and I don't think any sane person would attempt to brush teeth in a portapotty. (Collective shudder, please.) In the dark recesses of my mind, I remembered my sister Emily telling me about some waterless toothbrush thing and I discovered my Invisalign soulmate: The Colgate Wisp.

Now this miniature toothbrush contraption comes with a minty fresh center that cleanses and freshens. The end doubles as a toothpick or tiny torture device. Verdict? It works and it's better than brushing in a grody bathroom. But, it's no substitute for the real deal. I find the brushing without water (and, um, no spitting) to be kind of gross, but again, it will do in a pinch. Also, do note, it's teeny tiny so it takes some time to get properly refreshed.

Any other hot tips on teeth care I should know? Do tell!

xoxo,
shawna

* See how well that turned out by clicking here.

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