I'm ashamed to admit -- I only started flossing my teeth in the last few months. I have bridges that had
always been very hard for me to floss around, even with the threaders that I got from the dentist. The threaders were very thick, and they hurt my gums, which are quite sensitive around the bridges. The last time I went to the dentist, he gave me a sample of individually packed pieces of floss with a very thin threader at the end of each one. I loved them, but when I looked them up, I found them to be quite expensive. Then I found Oral-B Superfloss, which is the same idea, but comes in a box of 50 for only 2 or 3 dollars. They are incredibly convenient, and work very well around braces. I know a lot of you braces-wearers use Waterpics. I actually own one, and should give it a try.2. Things I Can't Do
Lately, I've been noticing a lot of things I can't do with my current bite. I can't bite my nails, eat an artichoke, open a package, or hold anything in my teeth. I'm lucky I guess that most of these things are actually bad for your teeth. My dentist actually told me that my 4-year-old temporary bridges would have had to have been replaced by now if not for the fact that I never use them to bite!
3. A Question
Whenever I have to bite down completely (for example, if the orthodontist asks me to), it takes me a few moments. I have to rearrange my jaw around (?) to make it so I can close my mouth. I guess that's because my teeth don't really fit together properly? Does anyone else experience this?
5 comments:
I experience this also. Every time I bite down, my jaw is in a different place. I don't really know how to place my jaws to bite and it makes it really difficult for dentists to do crowns and whatnot on me because my bite is never the same. It can be really frustrating. BTW ~ I use the superfloss to clean around my implants; they work great. I recently started using my waterpic ~ it's awesome. I wish I had known how well it works before letting it accumulate a layer of dust. You should start using yours; it's good for massaging your gums too.
I had the same problem with my bite...I never knew which one they were talking about. I had a 'correcting' bite that through the years I guess I found worked best to get my teeth to actually touch. Then there was my 'real' bite where after the braces only 2 molars touched and none of the others!
A little trick my surgeon taught me to find your 'real' bite. Which is the one they will want to go by for surgery and orthodontics.
1) put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth as far back as you can.
2)With a relaxed jaw, close your bottom jaw.
3)That's your real bite!
Hope that helps!!
Wait, I'm confused. On your diagnosis it says "chin deficiency" but you said you had a long chin...
Amy: Cool! That works pretty well! I have to really exaggerate it, but I'm going to start using that.
Aimee: I just stuck the waterpik in the dishwasher last night. I'll give it a try tonight! My diagnosis does say chin deficiency, and this is a standing joke in my family, as my chin is obviously not deficient (I need to get up pictures!). The only reason it is in my diagnosis is because the surgeon is pretty sure I will need a genioplasty when my jaw is corrected, hopes that if he includes a diagnosis of chin deficiency, the genio might be covered by insurance.
HI there! Me again.. lol
Funny I'm reading this because I was just going to publish a post about threader floss and how I have become A PRO at flossing! Those ones you mentioned are cheaper but I would get them stuck real easy on my brackets and hooks and they were a pain to get out. I use these other ones by crest and they are GREAT! ..expansive though.
So now that I have this NEW underbite I too CAN NOT bite my fingernails, hold things with my teeth,eat artichokes!! What a bummer. I can't wait to get it fixed! Not wanting to get used to it at all. It's also hard for me to bite down. I find myself trying to rearrange my mouth and it takes a few seconds. That trick that Amy posted works really well! Just tried it. :D
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