I am struggling with a horrendous headache this evening. It's the kind that I haven't had in awhile that requires a lot of ibuprofen, a warm towel, and water. I think it's a tension headache because it cropped up after a long day at work staring at the computer screen. I felt my eyes struggling all day with the office lighting and the screen.

On the same note as tension headaches, I had a dentist appointment last week at a new dentist here in the new town. I'm typically good about getting a cleaning and exam every six months, but due to the move and a cancellation at the doctor, I was a little overdue.

Everything checked out okay though. No cavities. No gum disease. Unfortunately, there was a long discussion on tension headaches, teeth clenching, and the effects it has on my mouth. As the technician recorded my teeth and the status of my gums, she explained that I had several spots of gum recession.

Words that I don't want to hear at 22 years old. She explained that the spots may or may not be progressing quickly since this is the first time she's seen me, but that we needed to keep an eye on them. She also explained that they were in the same areas on each side of my mouth which would indicate they were from clenching rather than aggressive brushing, etc.

I knew the minute that she said it that it probably was true. I've struggled with clenching over the past six years or so when I began getting this new type of headache. I tried a mouth guard that I bought at a pharmacy, but I couldn't sleep with it or bear it for more than a second so it really didn't do much. I looked into getting one from the dentist but just never got around to doing it because apparently, insurance doesn't cover it.

As the appointment ended, we looked at two types of mouth guards and discussed what it might mean to have further gum recession. She explained grafts and stretching the gum to protect the root of the tooth. She also explained how it can lead to increased infections by leaving it exposed.

None of that is something that I want to face as a type 1 diabetic. Prevention is much prettier to my ears. At some point this year, I'm hoping to get a mouth guard and at least prevent some of the clenching and gum recession. Maybe it would stop some of these headaches too which would be grand with me.