The bite-wedge comes to the rescue again

Last week I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. For the last couple of years the dental hygienist has inserted a bite-wedge (plastic wedge) between my upper and lower teeth on the opposite side she is working on to make cleaning easier. I found that my lower jaw would begin to shake (tremors) if I have to hold it wide open for too long. Since begin using the bite-wedge, cleaning has been much easier on my jaw muscles.

Today, I had a crown put on a cracked rear molar. Once again the bite-wedge became indispensible. If I had to hold my mouth open for as long as they worked on it today, it would have been uncomfortable to say the least as well as difficult for the dentist to work. The new computer process that takes a picture of the tooth and develops a 3D model is something else. I was impressed with the technology, but it will not work if your jaw is shaking. The bite-wedge solved the problem and allowed for an easy modeling of the tooth's crown right without having to send it off to the lab. The whole process from picture to creation of the crown took ten minutes. Simply amazing!

As long as I am on the subject of teeth, let me plug a couple of products that really work for me. The Phillips Sonicare Electric Toothbrush was a great investment a few years ago. As I have mentioned before, my hands just do not want to function as well during the winter. While brushing my teeth, I was having a more difficult time cleaning all areas of my teeth. My dentist recommended the Sonicare toothbrush and I decided to try it. It works great for me. I love the larger, easier to grip handle. The timed brushing is also nice ... providing thirty seconds per section of teeth and an extra thirty seconds if you really want brighter front teeth. My dental hygienist tells me that my teeth are much better (less tartar and buildup) since I started using it. A few months ago my wife finally decided to try it and she also likes it.

Wintertime also makes it harder for me to floss. My left forefinger just will not hold the floss. I began using the "Reach Access" floss'er last year and it really helped. It looks something like a toothbrush except instead of bristles it has dental floss. You can easily grasp the handle and it cleans all of the hard to reach areas. Presto, no more difficulties in flossing.

All of you out there who are living with Kennedy's Disease, please share your success stories with teeth cleaning and visits to the dentist.