i know its a sensitive topic for many, so all content below the read more
we started doing this over the past few months. here's the summary.
previously we brushed once a day, every day. managed to ingrain this as a hard rule at the system level, somehow. after years of inconsistency with that. but it wasn't quite doing it for us. we had very sensitive gums, sensitive tongue.
we have managed to get to the point that we now use mouth wash most nights. and try to floss at least once every 2 or 3 days.we do every night if we can manage but we frequently do not manage, so every 2-3 days is often the reality. we also brush our tongue now which we didnt before.
results thus far:
- flossing sucked ass at first. for a couple reasons
- we had to learn how to do it and develop technique. it was really awkward to do at first. now its not.
- it really hurt at first, bleeding gums, etc. this does in fact go away with time
- mouth wash hurt a lot at first. it doesn't now
- it takes more saturation of high-intensity sauces like ketchup or barbecue sauce before our tongue starts hurting
- our gums used to be extremely temperature sensitive. now they are significantly less sensitive to temperature. still sensitive, still dont want to swish ice-cold water around. but we used to have to take pills with warm water. now we don't.
- they also tend to feel less inflamed most of the time
some notes:
- its not all or nothing. any improvements you can make to your routine will help.
- rinsing with room temp water after mouth wash is ideal. too warm and it kinda feels burning
- i honestly have no idea if the mouth wash actually does anything cause we started doing it around the same time we started flossing
- our teeth are super cramped. the plastic flosser picks are a problem because sometimes the floss gets stuck inside the teeth, and pulling it back out feels like its gonna take our teeth with it (we've had to cut it with scissors a few times). we use traditional floss now so we can just pull it out sideways.
- it doesnt feel like it takes as long after doing it awhile
- it's undoubtedly worth it and improves our mental health.
also:
there are right and wrong ways to brush. if you're interested, look up technique. just going back and forth with the brush is ok but isnt as good as doing mini circles as you do. you get better at it.
