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Gag reflex

Can you train yourself not to have a gag reflex? I know this sounds stupid, but it's inspired by the tongue brushing thread. I have a really strong gag reflex and even when I normally clean my teeth it feels like I want to be sick. I brush the front of my teeth properly and the back teeth as well as I can, but I always want to throw up. When I have a temperature I can't have the thermometer in my mouth either because it makes me want to puke. Are there any exercises I can do to stop this?

Reply 1

pendragon

13

Pornstars do...

Reply 2

john!!

1

best reply ever

Reply 3

JadedHippy

11

pendragon

Pornstars do...

As crude as it was, that's getting rep.

To the OP: Maybe you could try biting down on something with the other side of your mouth when you brush?

Jaded

Reply 4

gCarroll

Holly Golightly

Can you train yourself not to have a gag reflex? I know this sounds stupid, but it's inspired by the tongue brushing thread. I have a really strong gag reflex and even when I normally clean my teeth it feels like I want to be sick. I brush the front of my teeth properly and the back teeth as well as I can, but I always want to throw up. When I have a temperature I can't have the thermometer in my mouth either because it makes me want to puke. Are there any exercises I can do to stop this?

gCarroll suggests not brushing your teeth in front of a mirror and seeing if, as a result, your urge to vomit is reduced.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

I've also just started brushing my tongue, inspired from the recent thread. The gag reflex is horrible but I'm still gonna keep at it and see if it reduces.

Reply 6

Talya

16

My orthodontist told me how!

When you're brushing teeth/tongue/going down on a guy, stand on one leg. That way, your brain is too busy thinking about balancing to gag. And it works too!

Reply 7

girl afraid

Brushing your teeth? Yeah right... :rolleyes:

Reply 8

michelle9876

I had that problem this morning. It makes me think that brushing my tongue is worse for my teeth, because I don't just have the urge to throw up - I generally do! I can't gargle mouthwash either. Tried the other day, and spat it out and covered my mirror - oops...

Reply 9

silence

16

get a banana and attach some brissles to the top part of it. try brushing your teeth with that for a couple of days.

then revert back to a normal toothbrush and all will feel fine.

Reply 10

Talya

16

girl afraid

Brushing your teeth? Yeah right... :rolleyes:

Huh? When I brush my back teeth it triggers my gag reflex sometimes... I have a very sensitive one.

Reply 11

Brown Eyed Girl

silence

get a banana and attach some brissles to the top part of it. try brushing your teeth with that for a couple of days.

then revert back to a normal toothbrush and all will feel fine.

i just have an image of a person brushing their teeth with a banana now :smile:

i used to gag real bad but now i practically have no gag reflex cause i couldn't take tablets that were vital. so busshing my teeth i would just press the tooth brush down on the tip of my tongue for a second, then move back lil by lil till i nearly gaged then go one more and force your self not to gag, after a while you just wont gag ... hopefully.

Reply 12

pendragon

13

You can do the tongue cleaning, by scraping it (not to hard) with a spoon. :smile:

Reply 13

icedout

1

The easiest way I find is to breathe out as the toothbrush goes further back. You generally tend to gag only if you're breathing in.

Reply 14

Lady_Muck

14

Talya

My orthodontist told me how!

When you're brushing teeth/tongue/going down on a guy, stand on one leg. That way, your brain is too busy thinking about balancing to gag. And it works too!

Wow. You have intimate chats with your orthodontist.

Reply 15

Talya

16

Lady_Muck

Wow. You have intimate chats with your orthodontist.

He couldn't get me to stop gagging when making a mould of my teeth for my retainer. So told me to lift one leg up in the air, so my brain was concentrating on that instead. And that is also works when standing on one leg.

Reply 16

Lady_Muck

14

Talya

He couldn't get me to stop gagging when making a mould of my teeth for my retainer. So told me to lift one leg up in the air, so my brain was concentrating on that instead. And that is also works when standing on one leg.

I'm glad, I had rather funny conversations going around in my head about gag reflexing!

Reply 17

Pandy

10

Anonymous

I've also just started brushing my tongue, inspired from the recent thread.

Haha, snap.

As for the reflex, no idea tbh. I think it's very hard to stop reflexes of any kind because they are exactly that: reflexes.

Reply 18

boyfriend_jeans

massage your chin quite hard, it stops you gagging. That's what we always get patients to do in our dental practice when they're having impressions taken, it always works. Might be a bit difficult when you're brushing your teeth though!

Gag reflex

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