Sexy mouthguards/night-guards

I hate going to the dentist. I hate going to the doctor. It's rare a doctor or dentist tells me something I don't already know. However, one thing I resolved to do since moving back to Boston has been to be more consistent in my regular check-ups with both my doctor and my dentist. I've even started going to a chiropractor for my back to hopefully start relieving my ailing back before I can't walk anymore! Well, it's not nearly that bad. As a matter of fact, I can function just fine in everyday life and even play basketball a few times a week. The recovery time, however, has me feeling like I'm 60, not 30. Ah, the things I have to look forward to as I get older.

Ok, back to the dentist. Before my mom flew off to Japan she suggested I go to her dentist, Dr. Sandler, whom she promised me was extremely thorough in his examinations. Turns out, he IS a great dentist and suggested, among other things, that I get a night-guard to stop my teeth grinding, which, unknown to me, was slowly wearing my teeth down. He mentioned that I grind my teeth so bad, my teeth looks like that of a 60 year old. What a coincidence that my teeth and my back appear to be the same age!

Here is my sexy little mouth guard. I've had it for a few months now, and actually wear it about 80% of the time (while sleeping that is).



A few weeks ago, I was playing basketball at the gym when I caught a flying elbow to the eye socket, which promptly dropped me to the floor while splitting my eyebrow wide open, dripping blood down my face. Of course it was an accident, but between nearly getting my teeth knocked out on a few occasions and now getting my face split open, it didn't take much convincing when my dentist suggested getting a custom made mouthpiece as well. So now I have a companion to my night guard - a nice, blue mouthpiece that totally impairs my talking and breathing when I play basketball.

I'm not sure why my dentist is adamant that his $180 "custom" mouthpiece is so much better than the ones I used to boil and mold for myself when I played high school football. Oh well.

So now my teeth are safe and I'm about $500 poorer (and yes, that is out of pocket AFTER my insurance!). I can't wait for my next elbow to the face!

On a similar note, my chiropractor is trying to convince me to drop $200 on a pair of orthotic shoe inserts to help alleviate my posture/walking (apparently I walk abnormally on the outside of my feet). Maybe this explains the six or seven horrible sprained ankles I've had over the years! I'll pass for now!

The older I get the more I realize how expensive it is just to be alive! And after seeing what my life insurance plans pay out if I die unexpectedly, I've come to the realization that I am worth far more dead than alive! Oh, joy.