New Dentist, lively tongue and a sonic toothbrush

[Lioness]

Good afternoon everyone,

So...
(deep sigh)


I've changed my Dentist at last. I wrote that I'd like to change him (or, at least, take a break from him, I think) and why in my previous thread...

The “New one” is a woman. A nice, kind and patient as she respected my request for breaks during drilling.

(deep sigh)

We had a really nice chat, alternating its topic from life to dental things and after a while inversely again. I told her that my teeth hurt a bit in different spots so she made a check-up for me and it turned out that I have three cavities.
Then we've manage to fix one of them (upper wisdom tooth on the left side) although it wasn't too easy because I gagged a few times. And that's the happy story.
“So, what's the problem?” anybody could ask me.
The answer is: that was an upper tooth and now it's time for the bottom ones. And my tongue is always extremely lively during dental procedures and I can't even feel it when I have my mouth wide opened. It just has to be held down with a mirror very strongly, as strongly as possible.
Yeah, I know it's idiotic and I hate this with all my heart but I can't help it anyways!

I'm not entirely sure if a new Dental Assistant will be able to cope with it. Let's hope so but... who knows... Maybe my “previous” Dentist who works in the same practice and sometimes even in the same office will have to hold my tongue down. (And also me, perhaps – as this time I'm very afraid because the two remaining teeth are in hard to reach and treat places, I think. Both are in the bottom jaw, one in the very front but as I have malocclusion, it can occur to be... problematic, mildly speaking, and the other one is somewhere close to the back of my mouth.

Argh! How am I and my Dentist(s) and/or maybe a Dental Assistant are going to manage it? I have no, even the foggiest, idea! ?


What's more, I decided to buy myself a sonic toothbrush to make cleaning easier, especially the damn back teeth. I told myself that I'm going to be brave and I'll get used to it at last. But after three uses I must say that the whole “procedure”, tickling, vibrations and the noise are just indescribable, dreadful punishment!!! Yeah, I have very clean, smooth teeth after this torture but... For what sins...?!

Does anybody feels something similar or is it just crazy me? Can it be something associated with my disability, cerebral palsy?

I will be very grateful for any reply.

 

[16andbadteethandgums]

First of all I think it's great you found what seems to be a nice kind dentist I wouldn't call you crazy at all... I feel the same way with a electric toothbrush. Maybe you can try one of those dainty little 'tuft toothbrushes' and use it to manually brush the wisdom teeth seperately. It'll take some time but it's obviously without the horribly unpleasant vibrations. As for the tongue issue, maybe bring it up with the new dentist beforehand? I'm pretty sure they're not short on experience in dealing with enthusiastic tongues... I would imagine cerebral palsy to have some association with the problem as it's a disability which can affect fine motor control, which tongue movements come under, but I'm not too sure - excuse my ignorance on the matter, very sorry.

Good luck in the meantime

 

[letsconnect]

Congratulations on finding a new dentist ???!!!

I’ve had the same experience as you with Sonicare. The ticklish feeling was so annoying that I switched back to an Oral-B pro electric brush after 2 weeks...

I don’t think it’s electric toothbrushes as such, but rather “sonic” models that are incredibly ticklish!

 

[MumOfBoys1985]

My little boy has a 'lively' tongue aswell. He has autism and sensory things can be tricky for him at times. I find when I brush his teeth with a manual brush his tongue is fine but with the electric brush his tongue is all over the place. He prefers the electric because of the sensory seeking side- he likes the noise as its comforting for him and he likes the feel of it, he also remembers the praise from the dentist for having beautiful clean teeth so we kind of run with it.

I think if you warn your dentist in advance about your tongue but I would imagine there's lots of people who experience the same.

I would say preserve a little longer with the brush if you can stand it, as you might find over time you get used to it. However if its causing you too much anxiety and upset then scrap it. There's no point making yourself upset and agitated over it when there are less upsetting options such as a manual brush.

 

[Lioness]

First of all, I'd like to thank you for all your replies. I'm not often able to write back quickly but I'm grateful for all of them.

I would imagine cerebral palsy to have some association with the problem as it's a disability which can affect fine motor control, which tongue movements come under, but I'm not too sure - excuse my ignorance on the matter, very sorry.

There's nothing to be sorry about, 16andbadteethandgums. I think you are right. My new Dentist said that it happens with different illnesses that when some part of the body is weaker, the other is much stronger. She also said that although my tongue can be troublesome sometimes, it also helped me with keeping my mouth a little cleaner when I was a child and I brushed my teeth very rarely. So, it has two sides.

Now, I have all of them fixed, I had it done 13th October but now I have another issue, maybe TMJ or something... I don't want to complain that much, sorry...