Ha! Today I Learned!

From time to time I struggle with sore things in my mouth.

Knock on wood I'm not talking about teeth (oh please no) but like roof of mouth and gum based stuff.

I tend to have problems in those two areas - the roof of my mouth, and the gums, uh... gums of my teeth?  (Weird way to put it but unsure how else to say it!)

Last month I was dealing with really painful mouth sores.  I kept trying to heal them but my usual things weren't seemingly helping.  And usually when these mouth sores pop up I immediately stop using my toothpaste in case that's irritating it (I had to switch to a new toothpaste about a year ago due to tooth sensitivity and yes, that "tooth sensitivity" toothpaste really does help, and my dentist is one of those x out of 10 dentists who recommend it, although I assume not on tv!)  It then occurred to me that maybe, just maybe the toothpaste itself could be one of those things that was bothering my gums, so I did some research and sure enough there is an ingredient in many toothpastes (called SLS... it causes lather) that can cause gum irritation and/or sores for some people.

So... I searched, and that brand makes a few toothpastes that still have all the good things I need/want in them but not that particular ingredient and so I'm hoping that that is a helper and while it's only been a few weeks, so far so good I think? (Knock on so much wood.)

After my last dental cleaning (last week?  two weeks ago?  well, recently anyway) I noticed the roof of my mouth got irritated and I was not happy about this (I'm not saying the one caused the other but it is possible that it did, just not certain.... the roof of the mouth issue might be from like being scraped, think like "sharp" food etc?)  The roof of mouth sore is, well sore, and so I tried to figure out ways to help it go away.

Because I don't know the cause or what exactly it is (it's not always there so I can't guarantee it will be there when I go to the dentist to like show them) I don't know how to help it get better.  But I found a couple of things that were recommended and I went and got them and then last night I went to use them.

I probably should have done a bit more research but I didn't, and so I didn't know that the things I bought were essentially numbing creams!

I found THAT out when I followed the directions and dabbed a "pea sized" amount on the sore and then accidentally got some on my tongue (because tongues are SO curious they just gotta check stuff out!) which transferred to my lip and I was like OOoooOOooh this is the stuff my dentist rubs on my gums before he puts the needle in so that I don't "feel" the poke of the needle!  Yeah, I unknowingly bought numbing cream.   Which, just to be real, wore off quite quickly, despite the warning to not eat for an hour after applying.  Sigh.

So yeah, these creams won't actually help the issue get any better like I'd hoped, they'll just freeze/numb the area for a bit so that the pain is less.  And it's not that I don't appreciate that but the only time I really REALLY need the area not to hurt is when I'm eating and something I bite might rub against it (OW) and I'm not supposed to eat when I've put it on (I do not want to imagine feeling that numbing going down my throat etc!) it's kind of... not helpful?  At least for me and my situation?

I'll check the expiry dates and see about maybe returning one, but also I can't be bothered to go into stores right now if it's not really highly needed so we'll see.

But yeah, today I learned that the stuff my dentist uses to temporarily freeze/numb my gums is not some magically kept secret, I can literally buy a version of it off the shelf, who knew!? 

(Well people in dental pain probably knew to be fair?)

I get that this was maybe only a funny "aha" moment for me!