Stop having to buy new tires every six months! FIX IT ONCE AND FOR ALL!
Willie P. Openshaw
MY SOAPBOX OF THE DAY...
Brush Twice a Day!
I Nearly Lost My Teeth A Year Ago, LIVINGSTON, June 23, 2017 - Last summer I remember that I started having tooth aches in the lower molars area of my mouth (the molars are the large flat teeth in the back of your mouth that you use for chewing). I knew that it had been a couple of years since I saw a dentist. I figured that I had a cavity or two back there. I looked in mirror and tried to get a view of where the cavity was at, CAUSE IT HURT. The pain went on for a few weeks and was getting progressively worse. By chance, I ran across an advertisement from a local dentist office (in Livingston) and decided it was time to take action and get that cavity taken care of. By now, it literally hurt to even drink water (it was that bad, not kidding). When I chewed, I used my front teeth because the back teeth hurt so bad. Not What I Thought... The staff at the dentist office X-rayed my teeth and then came the part where the actual dentist came in to take a look. After a couple of minutes of the dentist poking around in my mouth with shiny pointy objects, he informed me that I didn't have a cavity. He stated to me that I had gum disease and it was too advanced to save my back teeth. "In my professional opinion, you need to have your two lower back molars removed from each side, and get a prosthetic". "If you don't, those back teeth will cause you to lose your other teeth". He continued, "Your teeth look beautiful, the problem is that your gums have become too soft and your solid teeth are now like houses on quicksand". My heart sunk. A dental prosthetic in this case would be four back teeth (two on each side) attached by a strong wire that conforms to the shape of my gums. Wow. I went home and was depressed. The thought of losing my teeth just bummed me out. I explained the situation to my wife, and she still loved me.
Apologies for my ugly mug.
Not So Fast... Before I just gave in and lost four of my precious back molars, I was going to try and save them. I'm obviously not a dentist, but I do know that "gum disease" isn't really a disease, but more of an infection. I sat down and thought about that. At this point, I was desperate. I thought that one of the best things for say a sore, or an infected area of the skin was Neosporin. So I went to Livingston Walmart and bought some of the generic brand neosporin and two large bottles of hydrogen peroxide. Twice a day I'd thoroughly rinse my mouth with the hydrogen peroxide and three times a day I'd generously apply the neosporin to my gums. In addition I'd started brushing my teeth several times a day. Slowly things began to improve. Totally honest, I'm happy to say that I made a full recovery. My pain is gone, my gums are solid and healthy, and my teeth are straight and strong. Wow. I stopped using the peroxide and the neosporin after a couple of months. Since then, I religiously brush my teeth in the mornings (as I always have), and religiously before bed (that's what I never did, and that's where I messed up). If you're going through this, first of all, see a dentist. You may want to try what I did, but that's what worked FOR ME. If you're one of those people who never brushes before bed, you need to start brushing. I've studied this a little and the key to avoiding this awful experience is to brush your teeth AT LEAST twice in a 24 hour period. The easiest way to do it is to brush your teeth in the mornings and before bedtime. There's science behind this practice and I've provided a link below for an easy to understand article that explains it. I recently turned 53, trust me, if you're not careful about stuff like this, it will catch up with you. The short answer: It doesn't matter if you brush your teeth right before bed. The most important thing is that you're brushing your teeth twice in a 24-hour period, says Kimberly Harms, D.D.S., a dentist and spokesperson for the American Dental Association. Here's what's happening in your mouth: A film of plaque is constantly building up thanks to the bacteria that live there, and it takes about 24 hours to mature. (That fuzzy feeling in your mouth the morning after you forget to brush? It's alive!) HOW BAD IS FALLING ASLEEP WITHOUT BRUSHING YOUR TEETH, REALLY?
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