Your Roots Are Showing
Today is the first time that I heard the phrase “exposed roots” applied
to my teeth. This came from my hygenist, who explained that based
on the roughness of the exposed area, clenching was the likely cause of
the exposed roots. She explained that I fit the target
demographic for this problem, well-educated, middle-to-upper-income
women in the 20 to 45 age range experience this problem the most because they internalize their
stress, and clenching is one way in which this stress manifests itself
(women are also eight times as likely as men to clench). Great,
so, I have internalized my stress without even realizing it.
badxmaru
August 30, 2005 @ 4:39 pm
take up kickboxing.
@nna
August 30, 2005 @ 4:57 pm
i have the same prob… funny.
ToastyKen
August 30, 2005 @ 5:11 pm
Stress wants to be FREEEEE!!!!
Saheli
August 31, 2005 @ 4:06 am
It’s not hard to guess that you internalize your stress. 🙂
I kinda want to take up kickboxing too! Kicking is totally missing from Aikido. And the only times I’ve ever gotten truly furious, I did want to kick something.
You have a better dentist than I do, because mine just told me that I have exposed roots but didn’t say anything about the clenching!
I remember my doctor in first grade telling my dad that I must be clenching and grinding my teeth at night. He was worried that it wasn’t stress but a parasite–something you might want to look into–but it turned out to be stress. Sometimes when I’m stressed out or upset I rub the joints of my jaw the way one might rub one’s temples during a headache, and that helps a little bit. It’s a pity that we carry stress in our jaws and not as much in our shoulders–much easier to get a shoulder rub than a jaw-rub! I refuse to get a mouthpiece after horrendous childhood orthodontic experiences, but sometimes biting on white cotton or silken handkerchief (be careful how it’s dyed! or it tastes nasty) can help get the bite out of your system without being so hard on your teeth. It’s hard to remember, but if you force yourself to be slack jawed for a few minutes a day, that can also help.