Yeah, so I went to the dentist today. Love love love the hygienist and the dentist…but not what they recommended. XX(
Yeah, I need a $500 bite guard. Because I grind my teeth and clench my jaw. This I know because previous dentists have told me.
However.
Not a single one of them ever showed me just what was happening…the ridges along the bottom of my top front teeth? From grinding. My shorter teeth? From grinding. (I know, I never even thought about some of my teeth being shorter than others! She said she saw a 2mm loss on a few of them! HOLY WAH!)
She also wondered if I had TMJ issues and I said yes, I can’t chew gum, anything really chewy hurts, my jaw clicks and pops—and she piped up, yep, I have TMD:
WHAT ARE TMJ / TMD’s?
Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) occur as a result of problems with the jaw, jaw joint and surrounding facial muscles that control chewing and moving the jaw. These disorders are often incorrectly called TMJ, which stands for temporomandibular joint.
And a bite guard (to be worn mostly at night) should help with all of that. They sent it in to insurance to see if it would be covered, but we aren’t holding out hope.
After I had my mouth open for the x-rays and the cleaning and the exam, my jaw was about dead. The dentist then said “This will hurt a bit now, but should help later” and then stuck her fingers in my mouth and massaged the tendon around the jaw. Egads, that was painful.
They also saw some groundwork for cavities, so now I have this special paste (at $16/tube) that I have to apply to my teeth every night to try and stop the process. (I think she called it recalcifying.)
And I do have one cavity that needs work soon (the appointment is next week).
But my gums look good!
Lordy.
At least this one was only $64 out-of-pocket today. But that damn bite guard…
>:XX