The Run That Hurt My Teeth

After very little motivation all day yesterday, I finally sucked it up and went for a run in the evening.  The temperature showed "feels like 5" but that sounded better to me than the treadmill.  I knew it would be getting even colder later in the week, so I might as well try to go outside while it was above zero degrees.

I ended up running 4.25 miles in 32:56, for an average pace of 7:46.  Mile splits for the first 4 miles were: 7:54, 7:49, 7:44, and 7:38.

I would've liked to go about further but it was cold...and my teeth hurt when my mouth was open breathing in cold air.  Why was that, you ask?

I had a teeth whitening procedure done Monday morning and it HURT!  I was unaware that a teeth whitening procedure would be painful, but oh man it was.  The entire thing took about 2.5 hours and included 4 2-minute sessions under the light.  Right before we started, the dental hygienist explained to me that I would feel what were called "zingers" but it varies from person to person how frequent and intense they are.  I'm no dental professional, but the way I understand it, the procedure takes off the top layers of discoloring on your teeth and so they are left extremely sensitive and it gets worse as the procedure goes on.  I basically fell asleep during my first 2 20-minute session under the light, but I experienced my 1st zinger towards the end of the 2nd session.

The 3rd session was considerably more painful, and then I made it through 10 minutes of the 4th before calling it quits. (It is common that people don't make it all the way through all 4 sessions.)  I was not sure I was even going to be able to drive home, the pain in my mouth was so bad.  I took some medication and slept away more of the day.  If I knew the procedure was going to cause so much pain for the rest of the day, I would've ran beforehand!  I even wore my running clothes to the dentist thinking I could go to the Y right afterwards, but that did not happen.  I would have fallen off the treadmill if I tried to attempt it.

The pain was mostly gone when I woke up yesterday, but not completely.  I still had a breakfast of soft foods that I didn't need to bite into (a soft doughy chocolate chip pancake and a cheese omelet).  And then when I went for the outdoor run, I could tell the sensitivity was still there when the cold air would touch my teeth.  But obviously I couldn't run with my mouth closed!  And it wasn't nearly bad enough to make me double over in pain like the previous day.

Despite the pain, the teeth look great!  Beauty comes at a price.  Luckily, this beauty didn't have a financial price for me - my mom won it in a raffle at her Women's Club Fashion Show and gave it to me :)  CSmith Be Generous.

Do you have sensitive teeth?

Have you ever had your teeth whitened?