Me and my teeth have a complicated relationship - mostly abusive towards one another and always too expensive. I had braces and a variety of other extemely alluring orthodontics for seven + years while I was growing up. I've had numerous permanent and otherwise beautiful teeth yanked due to my big teeth being too big for me wee head. I've experienced extreme dental phobia - biting dentists and everything. But then I got in with a good dentist and oral surgeon - got all of my nasty mercury fillings replaced, got my wisdom teeth removed and eventually recovered from the phobia. I was thinking I was pretty okay with my teeth - sure, they are still too big and the bottom row have gradually been shifting back to their mangled state for some unknown raisin...to sum up, while I still don't "smile with teeth" [much to mum's dismay - she's the one who's paid for most of this] my chompers are a-okay.
My main concern @ the moment - staining. Yes, I know that the general public has been obsessed with bleaching and whitening and whatnot for years and years now - but I've always found blindingly white teeth to be cree-pee [like that episode of Friends when Ross gets his teeth overbleached and they glow in the dark like black light]. My problem is that I love my coffee black - black as midnight on a moonless night. I also think Coke Zero is the true nectar of the gods and I love black tea as well [in addition to green tea and other herbal teas - I drink these things all day]. I recently found out that the worst thing ever for your teeth is tea - it's more destructive than red wine, black coffee or cola. I'm left wondering if adding milk to my tea would lessen the destruction of my teeth? I feel like a dumb person asking a question like that [the types of people who post seriously dumb questions on Yahoo! Answers]...but I won't lie - I've been doing research on this today. It would suck - I really enjoy the taste of strong black tea [drinking coffee with milk is so not an option]...and milk is fatty and regular dairy consumption plays havok with my skin. Feh - I don't smoke or drink or chew tabacco [I might be a hillbilly, but not that kind] - why can't I have this one indulgence?
On this topic - I found an interesting article from ABC News/Good Morning America here about all of the secret things that your dentist might not tell you. I particularly like the part about people not brushing their teeth for long enough. I am a big fan of brushing my teeth. In high school I started brushing my teeth in front of the television - which led to me brushing my teeth for at least five minutes - usually longer [I am easily distracted]. Sometimes I do brush my teeth too hard [my gums get sore]...but my teeth are quite healthy...so I recommend television + toothbrushing [honestly, I recommend television + anything]. Earlier this year we considered adding a fancy electronic toothbrush to our mouth hygiene arsenal - but all of the decent ones were very expensive and I couldn't find much to suggest that they really do the job better than the old fashioned way. And yes, on the whole teeth bleaching thing - it really does make your teeth more sensitive to staining. The more you use it, the more it weakens your enamel and such and then the more you have to use it to reduce and prevent stains. I really don't want to go down that path.
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I, too, think of Ross whenever teeth whitening enters the conversation. I don't think I'd do it either. But, I do worry about staining, too. So, I look like an idiot and drink my coffee out of a straw, lol. But, then I worry about wrinkles forming around my mouth. It's a lose-lose...
ReplyDeleteHmmm - I've not considered a straw! I used to drink all of my juice from a straw as a kid as I was partial to grape juice [which I feel kids don't drink anymore?] and my teeth would stain like crazy. Mouth wrinkles are not good though...I would rather have other types of wrinkles, to be honest. I think they are more prominent in people who smoke.
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