Inter-dental Comfort: for Folks Cursed with Enlarging In-Between Tooth Spacing

It has been nearly 3 years and I am still struggling with finding a smarter, more practical solution to neutralize the nuisance of food particles getting lodged between my teeth. My trusted dentist, who seems very overwhelmed by my dental structure, says that I have a teeth constitution that is too complex to have straight answers. I have had my share of dental fillings. Even while filling with the best compounds known to mankind, the attending dental intern was quick to point that given the strange manner in which my teeth are lodged horizontally, the lifespan of these fillings is going to be a big question—what should last for at least one year might not make it beyond the first 3-4 months in my case! I have discovered some things along the way and I guess, these will be somewhat helpful to those with a similar problem.

Firstly, you either have it or you don’t. I am not talking about a body language that hooks and sinks the opposite gender but a dental geography that is more twisted and challenged than the Grand Canyons. The world of dentistry seems sold on the idea that some people are predestined to have dental issues. No matter how much hygiene they maintain, some problems will plague such unfortunate folks. Luckily, I am not the one to be counted in this much maligned population. I am a better prospect than those who need unending rounds of scaling and filling and root-canal procedures. The one thing that most people need to maintain good dental health but don’t care to follow-up about is quarterly scaling and daily flossing.

You have to invest in getting your teeth comprehensively scrubbed, soaked, brushed, and cleaned by some sort of abrasive tool that the dental technician possesses. There is no way around this even if you brush three times a day and have the perfect, Colgate smile. This, when combine with regular flossing, means you have the basics of preventing dental problems covered—now, you are positioned not to be repeatedly attacked by dental problems. This does not fight away the genetic predisposition to becoming a guinea pig for a dental clinic but you have now give yourself a fair, fighting chance.

Second—get more from your check-ups | Including the Ones you don't Pay for! This realization came about when I was making those irritating, repeated visits to our dentist some time back. There are these guys who would stumble into the lobby, not wait a lot, say they need a basic check-up, and exit the cabin rather happy. This is not about the dental hygienist giving a quick BJ. These people have real, pressing issues which should lead to a proper dental inspection and some curative measures.

However, since they are regular at a clinic, they have more say in opting for one of the suggested procedures and are more likely to get more accurate answers about any treatment plan proposed to them. They also have the leverage of walking-in for small tune-ups without paying for the services. This is just about 5 minutes with the dental attendant quickly scraping-away anything bothering you. But when you have that string from the fleshy stem of spinach lodged between the gum and a crooked teeth, those 5 minutes can bring orgasmic relief!

In my last two visits, I did not fix an appointment. I just waltzed into the reception area, holding my lower jaw and was very dramatic in announcing that Sir has always taken care of me and told me to approach him without an appointment if I was in big discomfort. Usually, the industrious, heavily exploited interns at dental establishments can get those scraping tools and knock-out those painful impacted materials without any supervision. This is not something that needs real finesse. The relief is instant. The payment is zero. This strategy is good!

Lastly, explore inter-dental cleaning aids. Are they easily available? Yes. Are they easy to use? Yes. Do most people suffering from repeated dental impactions know about these? Shockingly NO. For some reason, the professional world of dental surgeons and oral fixture correctors are not very enthusiastic about recommending these DIY tools for your dental care. An absolutely easy and handy approach to cleaning out those expanding inter-dental spaces, these are available in the form of inter-dental brushes. There is no bristle here. Instead, you get some spiky fabric and thin wire-like structure that has been engineered to enter and clean-out the smallest spaces. This is much easier than flossing, which for me, has been an utter failure!