Normally my dentist appointments always go EASY-BREEZY. I walk in, they tell me I have beautiful teeth, ask me if I want to 'fix' my gap between my front teeth (which I always say NO THANK YOU), and then get my cleaning. All of the above happened, but there was a small addition this morning... My dentist asked, 'So do you have any problem areas, or anything you wanted to bring up?' And that's where it starts. 'Well, I have to say, my husband has mentioned that I have been 'chattering' my teeth at night. Now it isn't a nightly thing (or at least he doesn't notice it every night), but he has commented on it a number of times. And my jaw hurt for a good 2 weeks last month.' - me
'Hum... well, that sounds like you are grinding your teeth, let me look to see if you have any wear on them' - dentist
(joking around to lighten the mood, because she may have noticed I was nervous, since normally my dental appointments are smooth sailing) 'Maybe you are just cold at night and chattering your teeth' - dentist
'Yeah, or maybe I am hungry and I am eating in my sleep - sort of like the scene in Hook where they are fake eating' - me
(looks in my mouth) 'Hum... well, it looks like you have been grinding your teeth. And actually you have chipped one of your front teeth because of the grinding' - dentist
'Uh oh. Now what' - me
'Well, I would suggest you get a NIGHT GUARD (emphasis is mine). It will A. help you to not cause more damage, B. help your husband be able to sleep better because he doesn't hear you, and C. train your muscles to not do it anymore'
So on top of my normal cleaning I was fitted for a NIGHT GUARD! It wasn't cheap either ($375), but I figured that I should probably handle it now before I wreck any more teeth and have to pay to get them fixed (and medicine for my sore jaw). The mold was nasty (I felt like I was going to choke on the pink goo), so I am thankful that I never had any teeth/ mouth issues before now. Anyway, I have to go back in 2 weeks to pick up my new night attire.
PS I know the picture is NOTHING like the retainer type thing I will wear, but that is the picture that came to mind when they mentioned it.
1 comment:
This is too funny. A month or so ago I went to the dentist because I thought a filling had fallen out. Nope, part of my tooth was chipped because of grinding my teeth at night! (The dentist asked me if work was stressful...I think I laughed hysterically, then cried while saying, 'ya think?') They suggested a night guard to me, but I haven't jumped on board yet. Scary to think I'm causing damage to my teeth!
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