En Guard! mouth...

[susandennis]

Yesterday the dental assistant talked to me about a mouth guard.  She showed me one and walked me through the process.  At the time, I was not convinced really of my good fortune about the cause of the pain and figured if he had to rebuild my mouth, getting a mouth guard first was silly. 

But, now I am sold.  I have had very minor (.8 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being what it was earlier in the week) tinges and I'm convinced.  It was kind of hard to sleep last night because I kept worrying about grinding.  That can't be too good.

So today I'm going to call about the mouth guard.  And, it will give me an opportunity to visit the dentist office a couple of times without being terrified.  Maybe that will help overall.  At least it will give them an opportunity to see that I am mostly otherwise a reasonable, rational person. 

Comments

[joyoflj.livejournal.com]

I agree that visiting the same dentist office a number of times does help with anxiety. I have now won them over and they SMILE when they see me. Wow, was that a new thing for me at a dentist! They ought to after all the work, including teeth whitening (worth every penny btw) and money I gave them.

The place I go to now, they clean but do not hurt me. In past I have had gum cuts and one time I thought the woman would yank a filling out.

My new obsessive fear: I have to go to a PLASTIC SURGEON to have a small and flat mole removed from my cheek. Have to be put under. Am frightened because I fear that I have been put under so many times that my luck will be up and I will not wake up. Stupid, eh? But if I don't get this done SKIN CANCER in my future. UGH!

I truly know how you feel, Susan. Why do we do this to ourselves.

[susandennis]

I also think it's fascinating about what frightens people. I would not even think twice about having a mole removed. Or going under to do it (although having to have someone to take me home, would, of course, put the kibash on it). But I cannot imagine ever being so cavalier about having my teeth cleaned and even if they turned purple, I can't see my self having them whitened!

I don't know why we do this to ourselves but we sure do, don't we?!

Pickle on, m' dear!

that's the part that kills me

[henare.livejournal.com]

they always want you to go home with someone. i hate the thought of bothering anyone for something like that.

plus, when i had my appendix out in 199whenever, they discharged me and i walked the three blocks home by myself. if i can do this then surely i can get home from the dentist (who is not ripping out parts of your deepest innards ...)

Re: that's the part that kills me

[susandennis]

Exactly!! And I think on some level I am a little offended that I am discriminated against because I have no ready escort.

[kyrielle]

I'm surprised they have to put you under - huh. Hope it goes well! (I've had a couple moles removed and checked, but they just numbed the area - I wonder if that's too hard to do with where yours is? None of mine that had to come off have been on the face, just the arms. I do have some on my face, I hope they never give cause for concern now!)

[jwg.livejournal.com]

I've had a mouth guard for at least a year and a half. It really works and you can see how much grinding effect is on the mouth guard as proof that I grind. It took a few nights to get used to.

[susandennis]

Excellent news. I'm going in tomorrow morning 1st thing for the impression.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

I really like my mouth guard. From the very first it just slipped right on and felt right.

The first few nights there was a bit of a drooling issue with it, but that was temporary.

[susandennis]

Good to know about the mouth guard, not so good to know that the $30 version worked better for you than the $500 version I'm getting ready to buy :) But, I figure this is not a time to try and get buy. And I want to keep my dentist office happy.

[shanynrose.livejournal.com]

I use "sport" mouthguards. Molding them is quicker than the dental impression process, plus my insurance specifically excludes appliances that treat bruxism. I paid $400 once to get the whole shebang done, but I had to get some teeth filed down ("taken out of the bite") and my nifty appliances didn't fit after that. Oops.

I'm such a bad grinder (bruxist?) that I sometimes have to use an appliance during the day as well as at night. I chew the heck out of the sport things, but at 93 cents apiece I can always make another one.

Also a great way to stop biting nails.