Torus

Herself speaks.

The dental hygienist peered into my mouth and commented, That protrusion is a bit sharp. Does it bother you?

Bother me? I'd never even noticed it before. Now, though, I keep thinking about it. I am resisting looking at it/poking it with my tongue, because ew.

Apparently I have oral tori -- mandibular tori (torus mandibularis), to be exact. (If you're inclined, you can read about them here, or here.) Kind of interesting, although if you are at all squeamish about up-close photographs of the inside of a person's mouth, you might want not want to run a google search on oral tori.

Part of the cause is bruxism: I grind/clench my teeth at night. I've done so since I was very small -- I remember when I was very young, I would occasionally be jolted awake by my mother's voice announcing crankily to me, YOU ARE GRINDING YOUR TEETH. I can only imagine how annoying it must have been for her, and how very loud it must have been, considering that my bedroom was across the hall from the master bedroom and I slept with my door closed. Even Wikipedia notes: A grinding or tapping noise during sleep, sometimes detected by a partner or a parent. This noise can be surprisingly loud and unpleasant, and can wake a sleeping partner. Yikes.

I have been aware of the issue, and have noted that its severity has waxed and waned over my adult years. Right now, I am aware that it is increasing, since I occasionally wake up with my teeth or jaw feeling sore or tight.

I've invested in one type of over-the-counter mouthguard, and molded it to my teeth. (That was quite a gag-worthy process.) I am going to try it tonight and see how it goes. I'm not overly optimistic - I might need to try several different types before I get it right. We shall see.

I am reminded of one of my grandfathers, and his pithy witticisms about teeth:

Be true to your teeth, or they'll be false to you!
and
Ignore your teeth, and they'll go away!

I hadn't thought about Grandpa J.'s sayings in a long time. He was a funny little man. I hope you are resting peacefully, Grandpa. I am thinking of you.