I asked what causes gum recession, and was told it could be a) scrubbing too hard when brushing one's teeth (not me - I'm not that energetic a brusher); b) grinding one's teeth at night (totally plausible); or c) just plain old aging (ain't nobody got time for that). Since it's worth taking preventative measures, I decided to get a night guard made.
The last time I regularly wore a night guard was more than ten years ago, when I was in the process of divorcing my first husband. I had a lot to chew on at that time, and I tended to do it while I was sleeping. I doubt that I'm grinding my teeth to that extent these days, judging by the lack of morning headaches, but I do occasionally wake at night to find myself clicking my teeth together.
There never seems to be a dream associated with my nocturnal biting. It's not like I'm imagining that I'm eating raw carrots or something. I guess it's just random? If I have to exercise a muscle at night, I should train myself to do abdominal crunches. I could get a six-pack without any conscious effort!
I went back to the dentist to get impressions taken. That's the part where they fill two U-shaped trays with goo and make you bite down to get a mould of your teeth. It wasn't terrible. The goo from the top tray was bulging out a bit and pressing on my uvula, but I managed to suppress my gag reflex. Good job, right?
My dentist is also a naturopathic doctor. He's all about environmentally friendly dentistry. He doesn't use those silver fillings that contain mercury. One of his environmental purity rules is that patients must remove their street shoes in the waiting room, so that you don't track pollution and whatnot into the rest of the office. If you don't want to go barefoot, they'll give you a pair of surgical booties to wear over your shoes, but I don't bother with those. I'm happy in my socks. Especially when I'm wearing cheerful colours like these:
And then guess what happened! I looked over and saw that the other guy in the waiting room was wearing complementary socks!
I almost went over and high-fived him, but he seemed pretty absorbed in the book that he was reading, and I didn't want to start anything that might turn out to be awkward. Still: awesome-sauce awesome socks!
I'm going back this Friday to get fine-tuning done on the finished night guard. The dentist warned me that it's going to involve putting the guard into my mouth, taking it out again for a tiny adjustment, and then putting it back in again "30 to 40 times". Gee, sounds like fun! But he won't be using the drill, so I won't be complaining.
10 comments:
What? You didn't immediately run over and do the "Sock Buddy Dance"??
You're right. That truly would have been the morally correct thing to do.
I had a mouthguard years ago and I would rip it out and fling it across the room in my sleep. Turns out my problem wasn't grinding though but acid reflux. My first dentist got it wrong. Also I'm glad you found your sock twin!
Hey, a fellow sock aficionado! A rare breed, I'm sure! You wild things, you. :)
My goodness, 30 or 40 times! sounds like a conscientious dentist! And
those are nice socks. I'd like some like that myself.
Ooh, a kindred sock spirit! :D
Wow, 30-40 impressions for fine-tuning? That sure seems like a long visit. I bet his arms get tired.
I hope it all goes well, smoother than you anticipate, and that whatever is causing your gum issue goes away. *hugs*
You probably won't be surprised to read that I did gag when the dentist put the tray of goo into my mouth. How embarrassing. Honestly you can't take me anywhere, even though I do wear cool socks.
There's actually a TV commercial in which two guys are wearing identical ties.
I tried to get one of those night time mouth guard things, but couldn't do it. Just the fitting was painful to me.
Love the socks!
I have some suggestions about the gum recession. I’ve long suffered from that too (I’ve had one graft), and nothing I can do has stopped it, but I have gone 30-years without a second graft. One thing I did was to get a toothguard to stop the damage from the tooth grinding (aka bruxism). My dentist made the first one, but when I saw what it looked like, it occurred to me that I could simply buy the kind that athletes use, mold it myself, and save one hell of a lot of money paying a dentist to do the same thing for what proved to be an inferior product. So, for 30-years, I have.
Another thing I do is to floss religiously, digging the floss into my gums just enough for it to hurt a little, but not enough to make the gums bleed. I also, religiously, use a gum cleaner and stimulator that consists of a plastic “stick” into which I insert a broken-off toothpick. Your dentist might have them for free, which is how I’ve always gotten mine. I briefly tried to find them online for you but couldn’t, but the important thing is to use something to stimulate gum growth.
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