Christmas Gifts pt. 1
Here is a picture of one of my favorite Christmas gifts.... a sonicare toothbrush.
I have wanted an electric toothbrush for a long time, and know several people who have and love their sonicare toothbrushes. My friend Mary told me that it revolutionized her oral health, and I am all about oral health (except flossing, that is where I draw the line... I know it is going to shorten my life-span by six years, but whatever!).
I tried it for the first time last night and I thought I was going to die before I got to all of my teeth. Not only did I keep touching my other teeth with the hard part of my toothbrush (read: scratching nails down the chalkboard multiplied by a thousand, feeling), but it tickled so bad that I couldn't see straight. It was horrible! When I finally finished, I had toothpaste EVERYWHERE, and my lips felt like they were still vibrating long after the brushing was over. Miles on the other hand, also got one (even though he didn't covet it like I did), and he looked like a pro and only had slight lip-vibrating discomfort. I think I need to read the instructions again.
I got up this morning and tried it again, and it was a little better, I kept my mouth wide open so as not to touch the toothbrush to my other teeth (just thinking about that horrible feeling is giving me goose bumps!). I must say that it is going to take a large effort on my part to get used to this crazy toothpaste flinging, whole head vibrating, gut wrenching, gum tickling toothbrush! Mary, how do you do it?!?!?!
I, too, have had some issues learning to use my new toothbrush, and I don't know where my instructions are! I have found that I'm much happier when I have it on the sensitive setting. I've also learned that I need to get the toothbrush in my mouth before turning it on to avoid spraying the whole bathroom with toothpaste. I would love tips as you and Miles learn more about using yours!
Elizabeth is right on with starting with the brush in your mouth before turning it on. Then the trick is learning to keep your mouth/lips closed (at least initially) when brushing to avoid 'splattering' (this gets easier - trust me). Another trick is not moving it around too much. You really just have to guide it horizontally (not up, down, all around like a regular tooth brush) with the brush angled gently down towards your gums (at least that's what my dentist told me). Remember, it's doing the brushing for you. That was the biggest adjustment for me. Trust me -- you're never gonna go back.
Yall are hilarious! Matt and I got ours over Thanksgiving. Don't worry, there is a learning curve. Mary is right, you don't have to "brush" with it, just gently guide it horizontally on out, in and tops of your teeth...and ours came with a trick where it started sensitive and gradually increased over our first twelve days- so I didn't have the tickling issue, but you will get used to it and you will love it. Also, make sure to get even coverage- ours suggested 30 seconds on each side of your teeth for each section (outside of right, inside of right, top of right, outside of front, etc.) And it also says to clean it every week and I've found its good to stop it, take it out of my mouth, then buzz it again under the water for a second to clean it each time I brush to keep the bristles nice and clean. We've had ours for just over a month and when we went away last weekend without them, I felt like I had fur on my teeth the entire time because I only brought a normal toothbrush with me.
Yeah, ours has the build-up from sensitive to the real deal too, but I must have an especially sensitive mouth, because it was bad news.
After talking to Mary about it the other day, I have had better luck and I am actually enjoying it now.
I am now brushing on the "max care" setting, trying to get used to it, but I have a long way to go!
Have you noticed that there's a little hitch every 30 seconds to alert you that it's time to switch to a new tooth section? Sometimes I need more or less time on each section, but I like having that measure to go by. I like it when I move on to the next section at exactly the "right" time, and when I'm finished right when the two minutes is up. Not that it matters, but it's fun.