Yep, I need to get some calcium pills, i think. Or just get into the habit of drinking milk! I was lactose intolerant until pregnancy, so I'm just not in the habit!
The dentist was pretty upfront, and very very informative.
He asked me about my tooth grinding before he'd even looked at my teeth! Apparently he could tell simply from looking at my face, and my jaw muscles
Having no knowledge of any tooth grinding, I waited until he looked at my teeth, and he confirmed that yes, I apparently have a really bad tooth grinding issue, and should get some advice about different guards to wear overnight pretty soon, before my teeth are ground down to dust ...
He also said that the kind of hole I had was caused not just by the grinding, but also probably sugar, and not enough flossing.
I'm a pretty good flosser, but he said I should be doing it at LEAST once a day, and that also made me realise that my brekky is probably a real problem - because I usually have usually have oats with sultanas and a little honey, or raisin toast, and I have it with coffee (black, no sugar) and berocca (no sugar in them either) but I have brekky at work, and don't brush my teeth until before bed ... so I should really get some toothpaste and a toothbrush to live at work.
And yeah, stop grinding! No idea what to do about that.
It ended up being about $400 for two fillings (the neighbouring tooth had copped some damage too, so I got that done at the same time, rather than needing to come back in 6 months for it), 4 anaesthetics (which made the rest of the day tricky!!) and got to work about 3 hours later than usual.
But I'm just so incredibly glad that I was able to get seen to so quickly, and now it's all sorted out ahead of my work trip.
Ok, I'm gonna wade into this discussion with a for PN and also some advice, because I'm the Queen of Bits of Teeth Falling Off or even Breaking Right Through to the Root.
Yes, you are absolutely correct about pregnancy & teeth. Some calcium might not go astray BUT make sure your Vit D and your magnesium are topped up or you might as well peg pieces of chalk at your face for all the good it will do.
BETTER way to get calcium where it's needed (ie on the surface of your teeth, where it can prevent decay) is by using a product called Recaldent - tooth mousse. You can get it with or without the fluoride in, I prefer without. Also, you can have a toothpaste that's a bit more serious about the calcium than regular colgate. Ask your dentist about these.
In a similar vein, you can get Recaldent chewies, which are ace and help during the day if you're not towing a toothbrush around with you. BTW if your enamel is week, brushing too often can do more damage.
Finally, the grinding. Jaw muscles/face shape, yes. If you're unaware of this you're probably doing it in your sleep. My endodontist picked it before I even opened my mouth, subsequently (spectacularly) confirmed during a sleep study. I've had a mouth guard moulded that I wear to bed every night. Expensive but worth every penny.
Final tip - if your teeth are brittle, lay off the highly crunchy foods for a bit. Learn to suck your corn chips. And definitely never, ever, ever crunch ice.
Bookmarks