Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Oral Galvanic Effect


I had two fillings replaced in my teeth last week. My dentist took great care in making sure my upper and lower teeth came together correctly. I did the bite on the carbon paper thing several times until I felt comfortable.

On the way home, the Novocaine wore off. I bit my teeth together, and it was like an electric shock in my mouth. But if I bit firmly, there was no shock. I had other errands to run, and didn't have time to go right back to the dentist. Besides, I thought maybe the trauma in my mouth needed to settle down, and I would feel better.

When I ate dinner later, I had no pain from biting or chewing food. It was just from those bare teeth with fillings coming into place. Lucky for me that I wear a mouth guard at night so my teeth won't clench, or I would never have gotten to sleep.

I gave it a few more days before I called my dentist. No, my tooth doesn't hurt. Gums don't hurt. Not sensitive to hot or cold. It's just that electric shock thing. He told me to come in and he would adjust my bite again.

When I went in, he had me bite on that carbon paper stuff again, and I didn't get a shock with the paper between my teeth. Conclusion: Galvanic Effect. It was the metal touching metal that was sending a jolt through my mouth. It took my dentist about five minutes to grind down a couple of spots, so my mouth was fine again.

Something new every day!!!

1 comment:

Susan said...

I'm terrified of the dentist unless he freezes my head or drugs me up. I'm psyching myself up for my upcoming apointment that has me in a cold sweat just thinking of it.