(no subject)
She clenches her jaw, much more than she ever did. She's always known that she clenches and grinds her teeth at night; she's been warned by doctors and dentists at least once a year since 1994, when she had her wisdom teeth removed.
"Nightmares?" her orthodontist asked, then, right before putting her to sleep.
And the conversation went a little something like this:
"Pardon?"
"Do you have nightmares?"
"Not that I can remember," she answered candidly, thinking he was concerned with how she would respond to the anesthesia. "I mean, I don't ever remember having dreams, so I don't know if they're bad, or not. I don't thrash or sleepwalk, or anything, either."
"Good thing, about the nightmares. Most of my adolescent clenchers and grinders have pretty bad dreams. Not remembering them is almost as good as not having them, though, huh?"
The words are approximated, but the content is exact. It wasn't the kind of conversation she could easily forget; she's wondered about what he said ever since. Back then, she wondered why nightmares caused grinding. Years down the line, she would wonder if it wasn't that she just didn't remember the nightmares she had, and if that really was almost as good as not having them, at all.
Now, she wonders what it means that she's clenching and grinding while she's still awake.
"Nightmares?" her orthodontist asked, then, right before putting her to sleep.
And the conversation went a little something like this:
"Pardon?"
"Do you have nightmares?"
"Not that I can remember," she answered candidly, thinking he was concerned with how she would respond to the anesthesia. "I mean, I don't ever remember having dreams, so I don't know if they're bad, or not. I don't thrash or sleepwalk, or anything, either."
"Good thing, about the nightmares. Most of my adolescent clenchers and grinders have pretty bad dreams. Not remembering them is almost as good as not having them, though, huh?"
The words are approximated, but the content is exact. It wasn't the kind of conversation she could easily forget; she's wondered about what he said ever since. Back then, she wondered why nightmares caused grinding. Years down the line, she would wonder if it wasn't that she just didn't remember the nightmares she had, and if that really was almost as good as not having them, at all.
Now, she wonders what it means that she's clenching and grinding while she's still awake.