Thursday, August 7, 2008

august 7: let me tell you about my teeth...

because i know you're really, really interested.

i've always had lousy teeth. i had tons of cavities as a kid, got to spend lots of time in the dentist's chair. and then i had braces - not just braces, but the headgear, this horrible "bite plate," which was this extra thick retainer device i wore along with the braces and headgear - which i had for 2 1/2 years! ugh! then i got the braces off and my damn teeth got themselves right back where they wanted to be and pushed the retainer right out of my mouth. so that was fun.

around 23? 25? my gums started bleeding, which i thought nothing of. no big deal. i've been to the dentist, obviously, during that time, but not often, not having health insurance. so my gums have continued to bleed, but i haven't had any more cavities. my front lower teeth are just a little loose, but they've been about the same "just a little loose" for over 10 years. i drank coffee, a lot, and i smoked for 10 years, so my teeth were also pretty yellow. and they are really, really sensitive. cold foods send me through the roof! my sister can chew ice cubes (she's one of THOSE people), and the thought alone is enough to send shivers up my spine. about 3 years ago, i went to the dentist and they were alarmed enough by the state of my gums to give me a "periodontic scaling" which was horrible and terrible and i honestly think it did more harm than good. before the scaling, my gums bled and my teeth felt fine, after the scaling, my gums bled and my teeth were more sensitive than ever.

i floss. i brush. i do the good oral hygiene thing, although it's always embarrassing whenever i go to the dentist and they talk to me like i don't know about it. my gums just bleed. that's my normal. they've never gotten better, and they've never gotten worse. i just have yellow, crooked (but cute) teeth and bleeding gums and lots of mercury fillings. woo-hoo!

the only thing that has helped my gums has been taking CoQ10 supplements. most CoQ10 is animal derived, so of course that gives me a dilemma, and i'm terrible, horrible about taking pills (goes back to the lazy thing).

ENTER 811. when i first started eating all this sweet fruit, i was really concerned about my teeth, but i decided to trust the process and see what would happen. i've mentioned a couple of times how my teeth are feeling so much less sensitive these days, and that's TRUE! AND! there's another side of the story.

i've stopped using toothpaste. but i'm still brushing, with water, and occasionally with baking soda and H2O2. i'm still flossing.

my teeth, in general, are significantly less sensitive. however, when i eat cold fruit or super-sweet dates, my teeth hurt. very specifically, the teeth with the mercury fillings hurt.

my gums still bleed, a little. but very specifically, my gums around the teeth with the mercury fillings still bleed.

the teeth without fillings are MIRACULOUS. OMG. the gums around them are not bleeding, and not sensitive. there is very little "debris" to floss out. any film on my teeth brushes away easily. they look WHITER. and the loose teeth in front are feeling tighter. how cool is that?

so the problem in my mouth is the mercury, and i am going to get those damn things out. the fillings are old and crumbly anyway, and i think that the sensitivity i'm feeling is actually the fillings' lack of integrity, not a problem with my teeth.

is it possible to re-grow teeth? can my teeth, my living breathing pulsing vibrant gorgeous teeth, heal themselves and prevent me from needing to get more fillings? can i just get temporary fillings and allow my body to fix these holes? if the body can heal broken bones, surely it can heal broken teeth? i'm going to dream about this tonight. i want my teeth to heal themselves.

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