Dental health goes downhill after brain injury for more reasons than forgetting to brush your teeth. Discovering how my traumatic brain injury affected my saliva and made my teeth vulnerable to cavities was a gradual journey of understanding. I wrote about it on Psychology Today so that others can learn it isn’t all their fault for forgetting to brush and floss or their neurofatigue fighting the morning and evening brushing. Neurophysiological damage is part of the picture; healing it is key.
This month, my thrice annually dental cleaning and checkup brought me good news about my dental health. Two cleanings in a row I’ve had improved saliva production! That means every month, my salivary glands and/or my brain’s control of them have been healing.
I’m not sure exactly what lead to this amazing improvement after 23 years living with brain injury. But low-intensity laser therapy (photobiomodulation therapy) on my neck daily or every other day has for sure played a key role. BioFlex Laser’s concussion protocol covers where the cranial nerves thread. However, audiovisual entrainment of gamma, with my theory that it’s the foundational brainwave, probably helped enhanced healing neurophysiological control of the glands.
Read my article to find out why more saliva is a good thing!
