When your mouth and tongue feel like they are on fire, the last thing you may be thinking of is going for a dental checkup or cleaning. Just the thought of someone messing around in your mouth, poking, prodding, and merely keeping your mouth open for that long can be daunting. But the consequences of leaving your teeth uncleaned and untreated can be so much worse than temporary discomfort.
Trust me.
I suspect my Burning Mouth Syndrome was kickstarted by dental procedures on a tooth that abscessed, had a root canal, an apicoectomy when that didn’t work and when that failed as well, the tooth was eventually surgically extracted along with the one next to it. That’s a lot of trauma at once and I have never believed that the onset of this round of BMS was not connected. I ended up with a beautiful bridge, a roaring case of BMS, and found an excellent dentist who was aware of my situation and treated me with kindness, gentleness, and discernment
I go for checkups and cleanings every six months, and can always call if I am experiencing any pain or discomfort. In nearly ten years, I have not had another cavity or issue due to this regimen and chewing xylitol gum whenever I chew gum.
Will I eventually need a dental procedure? Odds are good.
I have one crown that has its enamel chipped off and another molar that is under close watch, so dental work is definitely in my future, but since my dentist knows my history we are waiting as long as possible to do anything that might have the side effect of worsening the burning. It will be unavoidable at some point, but we talk about it each time I visit and I trust that he will do the right thing at the right time.
So, when is the last time you went for a dental checkup? If it has been over a year, please take this as a reminder to take care of yourself if you possibly can.
Prevention now can keep you from more pain later, and that is always a good thing.
A Burning Journey 