Posts Tagged ‘Teeth’
How to Make Dentist Trips Less Painful
This morning I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning. For years, I dreaded going to the dentist. On routine cleanings I would have to endure the painful process of the scraping, the grinding of the water pick, and the grating whir of the polisher. My gums would bleed, my teeth would be sore for days, and I would feel helpless, waiting for the next time the dental assistant would inadvertently jam the pick into my gums. For those of you who cringed when I explained all that, you know exactly how I feel.
It wasn’t until the last year or two did I really stop fearing going to the dentist. The reason is because I started to take better care of my teeth. It sounds silly but regular and routine maintenance really did take what was a dreadful experience and turn it to a moderately uncomfortable experience. 
I don’t like lying backwards and having someone mess around in my mouth, but at least it was quicker and less painful.
What steps did I take?
- Brush properly – There are a million places you can go to read about brushing your teeth but the biggest lesson I learned was that you should brush and rinse until every tooth feels slick. If it feels slick and you’ve brushed it, you’re good to go.
- Floss regularly – This was the number one reason why my dentist trips are now less horrible. Floss removes the junk between your teeth and reduces the plaque buildup, which in turn reduces how many times the assistant needs to scrape away at it (and poke you!) to clean it out.
- Visit every six months – This is the number two reason. My insurance covers two visits a year, yours probably does too, and that means the amount of pain is lessened each time. It also means how much time you spend there is cut down too. I started going twice a year two years ago and in the last three trips, they’ve never had to use the water pick (that’s the water drill that has the ridiculously high whine when they use it, I hated it!).
The steps sounds so simple it’s stupid but they work. It takes only a minute to floss and a few minutes to brush properly, but it’ll save you years off your life in the pain it saves you from when you visit the dentist.
(Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo)
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