take care of my teeth

Now I’m hurting so bad, I’m afraid I may have knocked my alignment out of whack again.

Let that be a lesson to me. No nights off from this thing.

EDIT: Marking this done so I can make room for other goals.

I need to do this every day even if it’s a quick two second floss.

It really does make a difference, my gums are stronger than ever, and I’ve noticed how much nasty stuff comes out from between your teeth.

I don’t know why sometimes I look at the floss like my enemy, maybe I think it’s going to hurt. it doesn’t feel that bad now that I’ve been doing it. I have been slacking the last week, but I’m going to try again starting today.

It’s been a whole 24 hours

I can’t imagine the gunk that’s in there now.

at least I brushed before bed and after drinking wine and before work. too bad I didn’t make time to floss :(

I promise myself I’ll do it when I get home today. First Thing, walk in go to the bathroom, brush-floss-rinse

Im starting to slack, I haven’t done it at all today, and may have only done it once (if at all, I don’t remember,...) yesterday.

I’ll floss when I get home and brush with my sonicare
then listerine to finish the job..

I have two months until my appointment since I had to reschedule.. Now I really have to work at flossing every day (twice if I can)

I’m not making the time for it and that’s the main problem

I only hit one small snag: I woke up last Wednesday morning with it on my chest. I can’t spit it out, so I can only assume I pulled it out – which is difficult enough when I’m awake, so I must have been quite determined. However, I’ve solved the problem by sleeping with socks on my hands. Fuzzy, slippery socks. Looks funny, but the only person who ever sees me when I’m sleeping is R. And I’ve not taken it out since I started wearing the socks.

2 days, so far so good,

Maybe I should shoot for twice a day…

I’m prepping for my wisdom tooth extraction.

but I have a new nightguard. It’s…kinda cute, as far as nightguards go. And far less scary than I was imagining.

_{Pen included for scale only.}

I can’t spit it out; in fact, getting it out with both hands is sometimes difficult. It’s really solid, so I don’t see myself biting through it (at least I hope I’m not able to bite through it!). And it prevents my back teeth from touching at all – that’s how it prevents grinding. It’s also supposed to help prevent migraines, says their website. So it’s expensive, but full of win. Maybe. I’ll let ya know.

(Oh, and don’t worry about the black stuff – that’s Sharpie marker, put there by my dentist to see how much damage I’m doing. I’m decidedly not thinking about the Sharpie residue I will eat wearing this thing.)

I don’t need a crown. Yay! I did crack the tooth, but the damage isn’t that extensive yet. I also threw off my bite, so she ground down the sore tooth and the tooth above it. It’s still a little sensitive to cold, but not so much to pressure. I’m to use Sensodyne until the hot/cold sensitivity wanes.

I also ordered a super-duper new nightguard. My dentist uses it herself, and highly recommends it. She says it prevents you from grinding…which means not only will my teeth be protected, but my jaw and neck pain will go away. It’s not cheap ($500!), and of course it’s not covered by my insurance…but if it works, it’s worth it.

I noticed today as I was picking my current nightguard off the floor (I apparently don’t just spit it out in my sleep, but fling it) that I’ve chewed several holes in it. It’s two weeks old, and has yet to stay in my mouth for an entire night, and I’ve chewed holes in it! (I tried to take pictures, but my camera is not cooperating. Suffice to say it’s looking decidedly lacy.) Definitely time for a better nightguard.

I think I’ve cracked a tooth. It looks like it’s still in one piece (though it’s hard to tell, as it’s towards the back of my mouth), but the top feels jagged and it is really sensitive to hot, cold, and pressure. (I’m mostly subsisting on lukewarm tea right now.)

Hope I don’t need a crown…but at least I have a small savings pad right now, and plenty of money in the flex spending account – it won’t be quite the financial setback it was last time.

And you bet your boots I’m asking about a better nightguard when I’m in there.

I grind my teeth. Bad. I’ve woken my boyfriend (who can sleep through a tornado – literally) doing so. I’ve woken myself doing so (and I sleep just as soundly).

Never before, though, have I experienced a night like this past Saturday. Twice it woke me. The first time, I dreamed that I chewed away the back half of my nightguard…and that when I took the ragged remains of it out, it was covered in blood. (Not entirely fantasy; I’ve had my new nightguard a couple of weeks, and have already ground holes in it. And I do believe I ate part of my last one.)

The second time, I dreamed that I had some sort of convulsion while talking to a coworker, which caused me to bite on the inside of my lower lip – hard enough to impede speech. I remember apologizing to her in my dream, for not being able to speak clearly. I also remember (distinctly) the pain involved in this “convulsion.” I woke to find I’d pinched the flesh inside my lip severely, creating a ridge of skin a quarter-inch deep. It hurt for hours. My mouth also tasted of blood (not surprisingly, I suppose).

One night, mind you. And while I’m under a fair amount of stress right now (more on that later), things have been worse. And, life being what it is, things could get worse yet again. Greased chute and all. So I’m justified in worrying about my teeth.

I don’t remember when my next dentist appointment is (got that card around here somewhere), but next time I go, I’m asking about a real nightguard. Not those flimsy shells; I spit the soft ones out, and bite through the hard ones. I’m talking the heavy-duty ones, like I had in high school. And in the meantime, I’m religiously wearing my cheapo Target one. (Until I chew it to pieces, anyway. And if that happens too quickly, I’ll make an earlier appointment.)