in which I have a panic attack and discover that I've been using the wrong toothpaste for 30 years
My scarcity this go-round has, for once, nothing to do with connectivity issues. (We think - at last, again - we have most of them solved. Other than the fact that bad weather will still wreak havoc with our satellite signal, but that can't be helped.) No, this time it's because I've spent the last five-six weeks in miserable mouth pain.
Here's the thing - I had some bad experiences with dentists when I was a kid and they left me with stained teeth and a raging fear of letting anyone muck around in my mouth. And then several years ago my gums started bleeding and I was having some soreness and so I reluctantly dragged myself to a highly recommended dentist and discovered I had a bad case of gingivitis. I needed what they call root planing and deep cleaning - it's a horrible procedure where they numb your mouth, peel back your gums, and scrape the roots of your teeth to get all the plaque and infection from beneath the surface. It's MISERABLE and if you have sensitive teeth they will throb for weeks afterwards.
So anyway, I did the procedure five years ago and hurt for weeks and swore I would never have to do it again. I'd always brushed my teeth, of course, but I'll admit I was lazy with the flossing so I forced myself into some better habits.
Five or six weeks ago I had a check-up and the dentist said I had terrible gingivitis AGAIN. This after regular flossing and brushing with the professional gum defense type toothpaste. I was in tears, but she patted my shoulder and said it's probably just genetic and maybe this time the deep cleaning wouldn't be so bad.
I scheduled it for last Monday because they didn't have any other openings. In the meantime, I started using a fluoride mouthwash because it was the only thing missing from my regular routine and I wondered if the lack was what had caused my gingivitis. I had tried mouthwash before, but it always burned so badly I gave it up after a few days. This kind said "Mild! No burn!" on the label, so I thought it would be okay.
It wasn't. After two weeks, my mouth burned so badly I could hardly eat, but I thought that's the way mouthwash works, to kill all the gum germs and whatnot.
After three weeks, I couldn't even *talk* without feeling like the roof of my mouth was going to peel off.
I quit using the mouthwash and felt like a failure for not being able to prevent my own gum disease, and when I went in last Monday I told my dentist about my mouthwash failure. She said I was probably reacting to the dye or the flavor additives and said I should never use it again (I wasn't planning to - that stuff HURT). She started giving me the numbing shots and they didn't work, so she gave me a double dose. And here's the other thing - no matter how many times I tell doctors and dentists that I don't react to drugs very well, they NEVER BELIEVE ME. When I explain that I have a weird metabolism, THEY NEVER BELIEVE ME. So the numbing stuff didn't work and didn't work and she kept giving me more and then ALL OF A SUDDEN MY WHOLE FACE WENT NUMB. And when I say my whole face, I mean I couldn't even BLINK. I couldn't feel the air moving in my nose, either, because it was totally numb. And my body, thinking I couldn't breathe, went into a full-blown panic attack. I mean the sobbing-flailing-sucking-air-through-your-mouth-and-going-into-convulsions kind of panic.
It was awful and horribly embarrassing and I'm just thankful they didn't end up calling an ambulance. 0.o
So by the time the numbing stuff wore off enough for me to breathe and settle back into the chair, it had worn off my gums, too. Only she was too afraid to give me another shot (and I was too afraid to GET another one), so I got to FEEL every moment of the peeling and scraping.
Which was like my worst nightmare EVER. For MORE THAN AN HOUR.
Afterwards, she gave me two mouthwashes to use to heal my gums. One is medicated and kills bacteria. The other is called Fluoridex, and is basically highly concentrated fluoride and natural mint flavor. No dyes, no additives. She said it would be good for my mouth, that it would relieve the soreness and strengthen my teeth and protect the sensitive roots.
Two days after I started using it, my mouth was burning so badly I kept looking in the mirror to see if it was blistering. Between my mouth burning and my teeth throbbing, I couldn't eat or sleep or talk or really do much of anything other than feel sorry for myself.
So, anyway, I went back to the dentist yesterday in agony. She checked everything over and said I am probably just hypersensitive to fluoride. "It's pretty rare," she said, "but clearly that's what's bothering you." So I asked about toothpaste and she said, "Oh, just use whatever you've been using. The fluoride levels in toothpaste are very low, so if it hasn't been burning you just keep using it."
And I was like, "Wait, what? Not burning me?"
And she said, "Wait, what? Does your toothpaste burn your mouth, too?"
I went like this 0_o and nodded. "Isn't it supposed to? Isn't that how it cleans?"
Friends, NO. Apparently, it's NOT supposed to burn. Apparently, that's NOT how it works. And for THIRTY YEARS - for as long as I can remember, anyway - toothpaste has burned my mouth. So it turns out my gingivitis has been - she thinks - caused by fluoride sensitivity and I am now supposed to find a mild toothpaste without fluoride to see if that calms things down.
I came home and asked my husband, my kids, my mom, my sister, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law if their toothpaste burns when they use it. And, no, it doesn't. Seriously, I had NO IDEA it wasn't supposed to. And now I'm angry and frustrated that everything I did to keep my teeth and gums healthy probably only contributed to the damage I'm fighting now.
So, moral of the story: just because the general consensus tells you something is necessary or good for you doesn't mean it is for you as an individual. Also, if it burns, it's probably not good for you. ;)
And now I'm off to look for fluoride-free toothpaste. Is there even such a thing? :S
Here's the thing - I had some bad experiences with dentists when I was a kid and they left me with stained teeth and a raging fear of letting anyone muck around in my mouth. And then several years ago my gums started bleeding and I was having some soreness and so I reluctantly dragged myself to a highly recommended dentist and discovered I had a bad case of gingivitis. I needed what they call root planing and deep cleaning - it's a horrible procedure where they numb your mouth, peel back your gums, and scrape the roots of your teeth to get all the plaque and infection from beneath the surface. It's MISERABLE and if you have sensitive teeth they will throb for weeks afterwards.
So anyway, I did the procedure five years ago and hurt for weeks and swore I would never have to do it again. I'd always brushed my teeth, of course, but I'll admit I was lazy with the flossing so I forced myself into some better habits.
Five or six weeks ago I had a check-up and the dentist said I had terrible gingivitis AGAIN. This after regular flossing and brushing with the professional gum defense type toothpaste. I was in tears, but she patted my shoulder and said it's probably just genetic and maybe this time the deep cleaning wouldn't be so bad.
I scheduled it for last Monday because they didn't have any other openings. In the meantime, I started using a fluoride mouthwash because it was the only thing missing from my regular routine and I wondered if the lack was what had caused my gingivitis. I had tried mouthwash before, but it always burned so badly I gave it up after a few days. This kind said "Mild! No burn!" on the label, so I thought it would be okay.
It wasn't. After two weeks, my mouth burned so badly I could hardly eat, but I thought that's the way mouthwash works, to kill all the gum germs and whatnot.
After three weeks, I couldn't even *talk* without feeling like the roof of my mouth was going to peel off.
I quit using the mouthwash and felt like a failure for not being able to prevent my own gum disease, and when I went in last Monday I told my dentist about my mouthwash failure. She said I was probably reacting to the dye or the flavor additives and said I should never use it again (I wasn't planning to - that stuff HURT). She started giving me the numbing shots and they didn't work, so she gave me a double dose. And here's the other thing - no matter how many times I tell doctors and dentists that I don't react to drugs very well, they NEVER BELIEVE ME. When I explain that I have a weird metabolism, THEY NEVER BELIEVE ME. So the numbing stuff didn't work and didn't work and she kept giving me more and then ALL OF A SUDDEN MY WHOLE FACE WENT NUMB. And when I say my whole face, I mean I couldn't even BLINK. I couldn't feel the air moving in my nose, either, because it was totally numb. And my body, thinking I couldn't breathe, went into a full-blown panic attack. I mean the sobbing-flailing-sucking-air-through-your-mouth-and-going-into-convulsions kind of panic.
It was awful and horribly embarrassing and I'm just thankful they didn't end up calling an ambulance. 0.o
So by the time the numbing stuff wore off enough for me to breathe and settle back into the chair, it had worn off my gums, too. Only she was too afraid to give me another shot (and I was too afraid to GET another one), so I got to FEEL every moment of the peeling and scraping.
Which was like my worst nightmare EVER. For MORE THAN AN HOUR.
Afterwards, she gave me two mouthwashes to use to heal my gums. One is medicated and kills bacteria. The other is called Fluoridex, and is basically highly concentrated fluoride and natural mint flavor. No dyes, no additives. She said it would be good for my mouth, that it would relieve the soreness and strengthen my teeth and protect the sensitive roots.
Two days after I started using it, my mouth was burning so badly I kept looking in the mirror to see if it was blistering. Between my mouth burning and my teeth throbbing, I couldn't eat or sleep or talk or really do much of anything other than feel sorry for myself.
So, anyway, I went back to the dentist yesterday in agony. She checked everything over and said I am probably just hypersensitive to fluoride. "It's pretty rare," she said, "but clearly that's what's bothering you." So I asked about toothpaste and she said, "Oh, just use whatever you've been using. The fluoride levels in toothpaste are very low, so if it hasn't been burning you just keep using it."
And I was like, "Wait, what? Not burning me?"
And she said, "Wait, what? Does your toothpaste burn your mouth, too?"
I went like this 0_o and nodded. "Isn't it supposed to? Isn't that how it cleans?"
Friends, NO. Apparently, it's NOT supposed to burn. Apparently, that's NOT how it works. And for THIRTY YEARS - for as long as I can remember, anyway - toothpaste has burned my mouth. So it turns out my gingivitis has been - she thinks - caused by fluoride sensitivity and I am now supposed to find a mild toothpaste without fluoride to see if that calms things down.
I came home and asked my husband, my kids, my mom, my sister, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law if their toothpaste burns when they use it. And, no, it doesn't. Seriously, I had NO IDEA it wasn't supposed to. And now I'm angry and frustrated that everything I did to keep my teeth and gums healthy probably only contributed to the damage I'm fighting now.
So, moral of the story: just because the general consensus tells you something is necessary or good for you doesn't mean it is for you as an individual. Also, if it burns, it's probably not good for you. ;)
And now I'm off to look for fluoride-free toothpaste. Is there even such a thing? :S