The other day I made some oatmeal cookies and, in defiance of the
package's instructions to "wait until they're completely cool," ate
them warm.

Now I have dried oatmeal stuck on the back of my teeth.  I had not
known this was possible.

Toothbrushes are in vain.  Toothpicks break.

Short of having to go down to the dentist and have him clean my teeth
with a chisel, how can I get the dried oatmeal gunk unstuck from my
teeth without also removing the enamel from same?

Have you tried Dental Floss?

I would try holding some water in your mouth for an hour or two.
Obviously you wil need to spit it out occasionally and take some more
fresh water. But this should eventually loosen, perhaps even dissolve
the baked-on dough.

I agree with Amber. I would think that warm water might work best.

I would be contacting the manufacturer and getting them to advise on a
solution for your dilemma, seeing that it is their product causing the
problem. If they're not aware of the possibility of their warm cookie
dough turning to concrete on people's teeth, then they should be!!!

How about a Waterpik?
http://www.waterpik-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=WAT%20WP-350

Also available at WalMArt
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=932563

Hi gnossie...

So what happened? Did you find a way to get the oatmeal off your teeth?

Although I'm not a huge oatmeal cookie fancier, your predicament has
now completely turned me off them. I'll always think of this question every time
I see one ;)

Steph53

Believe it or not folks, that stupid gunk is still stuck to the back
of my teeth!  It's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me
dentally.  I thought for sure that after a few days, the stuff would
kind of just naturally biodegrade, but no.

With my tongue can still feel the stuff stuck there, though it is not
visible.  There is somewhat less of it though, I think because the
acids in many other foods that one eats might help to dissolve
something like this over a period of a few days.

But the problem hasn't been solved yet.  Thanks for asking.

1.  Holding warm water in mouth for upwards of an hour, then brushing
with a firm brush had no effect.

2.  Floss (both waxed and unwaxed) has had no effect.

3.  That dental rinse device is not available where I am.

So I have no choice . . . I'm going to have to go to the dentist in a
couple of days for an embarrassing teeth-cleaning.

I'm just glad that my life can serve as a dire warning to others!

Everybody likes eating cookies warm . . . but those are CHOCOLATE CHIP
cookies everybody's thinking about.  Make sure you let oatmeal cookies
cool completely.

To be fair, the package did warn me . . . although not in specific
terms.  I thought Betty Crocker et al. was warning me that if you
tried to spatula them off them pan before they were ready, the cookies
would fall apart.

Kind of understandable that they didn't want to get into dental
horrors on the back of their cookie box.

maybe biting into crispy celery or the like would help.

Some folks in the States might consider suing the company for not also
spelling out the risk of eating warm oatmeal cookies ...

I've been worrying about you, gnossie! How's it going? I was at the
dentist having a check up and while I was lying back, thinking of
England, I started thinking about you and your problem, and wondered
if there was any chance that you might have somehow dislodged or
broken off a small piece of dental plaque (scale) that has then
highlighted the sensation of the remaining plaque. You can have dental
scale and be completely unaware of it because it's smooth, but when a
piece breaks off, it feels like you've got the Rocky Mountains there!
This product, http://www.mizar5.com/DentalPikUltra.html  , might prove
helpful. Do let us all know how you get on!

I just realised bobbie7 already suggested the Waterpik. Sorry 'bout
that. I still think the scale/plaque thing is worth considering,
though. Best wishes...

Just some follow up, for those of you following my dental epic:

I finally got to the dentist and had the teeth cleaned.  The dentist
confirmed that things were exactly as I had thought: the cookie stuff
stuck to the back of the teeth.

However, by the time I was able to get down to the dentist, most --
but not all -- of the gunk had been removed from eating various
crunchy foods and by the acids in other foods.

Gonna be more careful next time, for sure!