Thursday, October 13, 2011

Dental Update

I appreciate all your loving concern, and you're wiliness to commiserate with me. So here is the rest of the story.
I switched to an electronic tooth brush, just the cheap kind.  The dentist said even a $5 spiderman electric tooth brush would be better.  So I bought an $8 adult sized electric toothbrush.
I also switched floss.  I floss everyday, but for the past few years some hygienists don't seem to believe me.  Well this time, instead of looking at me like I was lying, (which I know some people do lie to their dental works, I worked at an orthodontic before, but I'm not!) she asked what type of floss I use. I told her glide. She said oh that is terrible at picking up plaque its too slippery.  She said she gave me a sample of the the gray boxed glide and told me to switch to that instead, its better.  I said, well I don't care about using glide, its my husband with the tight teeth.  I use to use unwaxed before I got too lazy to buy two different types. She said great, unwaxed is the best because it actually grips the plaque instead of sliding off.  She recommended Reach, with fluoride gum care. So I got some of that too, I opened the box and realized hey this is what I used as a teenager before I switched to unwaxed.  Anyway, its thick but it doesn't bother me.
Lastly my husband and I bought need to buy mouth-guards.  We have decided to try to the $20 ones at the store, before having the dentist make them.  What do we have to lose?  $20 instead of $200.  We have a stellar Healthsavings account, where our money rolls over each year, so we never pay out of pocket for medical bills, and never lose money but we try to keep medical bills to a minimum, because our insurance leaves a big bill after we have a baby, and so we are hoping to be able to pay the $4,000 out of the healthsavings account instead of checking. (No I'm not pregnant, but one day.)  So yes, we do pay out of pocket, because the healthsavings is our money, but its at least not out of the monthly budget. We switched jobs while I was pregnant with number two, with the HMO, we were expected a few hundred dollars, when we switched to our new companies insurance, it cost over $4000, that was a shock!  We definitely didn't have that money ready for a baby.
But back to my dental work, the hygienist said, you are so young, your problems are in the beginning so they are easily fixed before they cause irreversible damage with a few changes in your oral hygiene.  So I'm all over that.  If twice as much money on a toothbrush, and different floss, and a mouthguard fixes it.  I'm so there, plus I don't have to feel all unsexy, like Date Night, because my husband will be sporting his mouthguard too.  Plus I get jaw pain from grinding and clenching, and the dentist said, with a mouth-guard the jaw pain should go a way and it would probably prevent some of my headaches.  I'm so there!

Oh one last thing. Before my dentist looked at my teeth, by the way first time there.  He said, looks like you have some dots on your face, are you monitoring them?  I said what?  All confused. I was totally lost at first.  Then I said, you mean my moles, yes, they have looked the very same since they appeared when I was a teenager.  Is this normal for my dentist to give me skin care advice?  Why did he call them dots?  I was so confused.  Is that normal Dermatologist speak?  I never seen one, I follow all the advice on watching skin spots/moles but none of my break the rules.  But seriously dots?  My face is covered in freckles, I have four small moles, and I broke on Sunday because I was mad at my husband for going hunting, I had no idea what my dentist was talking it about.  Too much information?  Probably, who else would I ask about this other than the whole internet community?

2 comments:

  1. LOL. I have never heard of any health care professional, let alone a dentist, referring to freckles or moles as "dots" before.

    I would've been confused by it as well.

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  2. That is freaky about the dots. I have seen lots of dermatologists and it is important to keep an eye on the "dots".
    I think I will try your floss. I never knew Glide was so slippery it wasn't doing a good job.

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