Moonlit Narratives Blog

I had a deep cleaning today by the hygienist and also had films done.  It was less unpleasant than usual; x-rays bother me much more than procedures usually because the x-ray pads are so uncomfortable to hold steady in place.  I did have a small scare after the cleaning.  The hygienist wanted to make sure my upper left molar was free of cavities so she had Dr. L come in to double-check.  He poked at the tooth a couple of times and didn’t believe it was an issue.  She later explained to me that this particular tooth has a discolored “darkened” ridge which looked somewhat suspicious; however, most cavity patches are also a bit sticky (which this area of my molar wasn’t).  I was obviously relieved when Dr. L told me it was nothing of concern.  I asked if ACT Total Care was a good rinse (I had switched to this one recently on my own).  The hygienist believed that most rinses seem to do a good job and brand doesn’t matter very much.  Following my deep cleaning, I saw Dr. B for routine retainer adjustments for 10-15 minutes.  My next appointment is scheduled for the beginning of May, 2011 so ’til next post…

P.S. I am planning to have a blog sale soon for brand new retainer cases.  When I had purchased mine, it had arrived in a big bag with many others.  I just need one and a back-up so I will sell these soon.  Please check back if you are interested.

P.P.S.  Please excuse my very chappy lips in the above photograph.

You can almost say I started the day with the staff and nearly ended the day with them = /.  I was forewarned it would be a very long day for me, but so is primping at the beauty parlor for five hours (yes, that actually happened to me on a busy salon day a few years ago).  I was a scheduling sardine of sorts.  Anyway, I had a new hygienist taking care of me today.  She was most thorough and was especially so, knowing that my whitening procedure would soon follow.  Good deep-cleaning = better whitening.  Think a good exfoliation before a fake bake =) for those of you who like to tan without the sun.   The chair talk consisted of buttered lobsters and lobster salad sandwiches *stomach gurgling*.  Dr. B came in twice to check on me (I figured he was bored waiting for his next patient).  She reported good news to him, in that my teeth and gums were in pretty good condition with no visible build-up (which is commonly seen during the removal of braces).  I’m a sucker for positive reinforcement.  I really did work hard to earn it and happily changed my bad habits.  The deep-cleaning was ~40 minutes?

I saw Dr. B first today before going to the hygienist for my quarterly deep cleaning. Dr. B removed the archwires, elastic ligatures, and elastic band and left the brackets alone. I told Dr. B the elastic band was causing me some discomfort despite my attempts to remedy the situation. The orthodontic wax was not always successful with protecting my mouth from sores. Canker X helped only somewhat. He decided to leave the elastic band off this time since they were doing more harm than good. Luckily he also felt that I didn’t really need them for now. The hygienist had mostly good things to report to Dr. L after everything was said and done. The only problem was I had some plaque build-up behind my bottom front teeth. I had some inflammation and a small amount of bleeding during the cleaning =(. I was really disappointed to see that since I take so good care of my teeth everyday and I use the Sonicare compact head to brush that area (no cheating), but maybe the damage was done and the plaque was building up there even before I began using the Sonicare and made it that much harder to remove? She said it’s a typical issue that she sees in many people just because of where our salivary ducts are situated. She gave me a pediatric brush for that area and taught me the best way to keep it clean. I just started a Vitamin C, Magnesium, and Multi-B Vitamin regimen in hopes to improve the health of my gums. I also thought a Flouride Treatment twice a year could be beneficial (very reasonably priced and takes about 4 minutes). It wasn’t a big deal at all. I was looking through fashion magazines the whole time and listening to her chatter away even though she knew I couldn’t answer her =). The time was up before I even noticed. I went back to Dr. B, everything was put back (pink ligatures and all) and he tightened both the uppers and lowers. Yeah!!! Well, I don’t know what else I can do? My dental health has become like a full-time job. The dental staff have been vocal about being more than willing to help me mainly because I seem to care so much. They also know I have an unfortunate genetic disposition to some of these problems. Maybe I am their successful pet project (a patient that they could finally reach) =))? When I think back to the way I was before; I’m so glad I’ve changed for the better. Hollywood smile, here I come! Only ~ 14 more months to go =( *big sigh* …..

December 21, 2008