Friday, December 26, 2008

teeth, gums, and toothbrushes


So I have awful teeth.  Very small, very soft, eroding enamel, bad gums.  Just no fun at all.  I hate dental visits not because of the pain, but because of the money that they are going to ask for when they see all the new cavities.

My teeth are so small my dentist comments and complains about them every time I go in for a visit.  And they are so soft that when she drills, she goes deeper than she realizes because it just drills out so fast.

With the pregnancy, my bleeding gums have gotten worse.  I've been getting a lot of canker sores too.  I floss regularly, brush twice/day, use mouthwash, chew sugar free gum after eating....  I do everything the dentist and hygenist say.  But they are still really bad.  I am alternating my mouthwash; Listerine one day for the anti-bacterial action to kill the stuff making me bleed, and then ACT with Fluoride to strengthen the teeth the next day.  Still not getting any better.

I was remembering back to my electric toothbrush and how much I felt it helped my teeth.  One thing I remember was the really small head.  It didn't hurt my gums so much.  I think I have one persistent canker sore because of my toothbrush.  So I bought a new toothbrush from the kiddie section.  Ages 5-7 it says on it: some adult teeth and some baby teeth.  The head is small enough that it doesn't rub my gums lower than where it needs to, it's soft enough that it doesn't bother my enamel erosion, and it's cute!  It's purple and has Wall E on it.  ;)  I like it.  My bleeding seems to have improved dramtically and t doesn't hurt to floss anymore.

YAY!!!!

I'm so happy to have a less painful mouth.

2 comments:

Stacy said...

Try using xylitol- it helps harden your teeth. You can get it as a gum, or as a powder that you add to things.

vj said...

poor baby.... hope you have got rid of all those pains by now.... me too dont hve really good teeth.... always suffer from toothache....