The RevGals 'n' Pals' Friday Five is all about teeth this week:
The Tooth Fairy
When I was a child I had a real affinity for fairies (no jokes, please) -- I read a few Flower Fairies books and was quite taken with the idea of these unseen entities flitting about the fields and forests -- but was something of a Tooth Fairy skeptic, even though I regularly found tooth-quarters under my pillow.
Flossing
It is A Good Thing. (She said nervously, looking around to see if her dental hygienist was near.)
Toothpaste Brands
I'm very brand disloyal -- it has to have fluoride, and "whitening" is a plus, but other than that I'm not fussy. Oh; one thing; no fruity flavors. God meant for toothpaste to be minty-fresh.
Orthodontia for Adults
My parents (particularly Pater Familias, who held the pursestrings in our family) were of a socioeconomic class and generation that didn't place a high priority on dental health -- the attitude was that you lose your teeth when you hit midlife, so why bother. So I grew up with buck teeth. I was finally able to have orthodontia done in my 30's, and it is one of the best investments I ever made, simply in terms of boosting my self-esteem. I frankly would not look at my mouth in a mirror for a couple of decades, I was so ashamed of my teeth, until I got braces.
Whitening products
I have tried them, with fair-to-middling results, but have always been concerned about their detrimental effect on tooth enamel -- a fear confirmed by my dentist. He is, by the way, a fellow caffeine head who swills great quantities of java, and he told me, "The way I look at it -- I drink coffee. My teeth are stained. That's the way it is. Deal with it."
8 comments:
I'm glad the braces worked out so well for you.
I still think fairies are pretty neat.
And stained teeth - drink coffee or teeth - they are going to be stained. Oh. well.
You are too funny.
I love your caffeine head Dentist.
My teeth are stained from Iced Tea.
Are you sure you want rat poison (that is, fluoride) added to your toothpaste?
It's a free country, I guess...
Baking soda gets tea and coffee stains out of mugs....
Yes, I also wonder about those harsh bleaching chemicals on the teeth. My youngest two used them regularly. and they are hard on the pocketbook as well. Many of the announcers on TV have TOO TOO WHITE teeth. Looks funny to me.
I had a cosmetic proceedure done to my teeth in 1988 to make them look like the braces I had had in high school had worked better than they did. I'm really glad I had this done. I had taken an "Oh Well" attitude about the gaps in my teeth, but the dentist talked me into the proceedure. You know, I could tell that he enjoyed doing this as it was more creative and challenging than the drill and fill routine of the usual day.
I deleted my first comment due to a big typing error
I'll give you a big AMEN on java-stained teeth. Last week Beloved and I attended a conference on youth ministry in the city were Beloved's sister lives. On our way from sis-in-law's place to the conference we'd stop at my favorite coffee shop in the mornings for big cuppa joe. The last morning Beloved looks at me and says "you know, it's a good thing I knew I loved the smell of coffee before I married you." Yeah - it's like that. My best friend's wife HATES coffee breath; he has to get his fix after he goes to work in the morning. Guess I'm lucky.
The dose makes the poison,afqt.
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