How does this picture make you feel? For me, this picture invokes the same nervous, queasy feeling I get when watching horror movies or seeing "sleeping" animals on the side of the road. This picture was, if you can believe it, an advertisement for a device that measured teeth. No comment.Today I had to go to the dentist. I really don't like going to the dentist, and it pains me to say that because I really do like my dentist, the person. I like the dentist, the hygienists, the receptionist, the furniture in the waiting room, the music, the view of my beautiful city out the 9th story window from the chair... all in all, if I have to go to the dentist, this is the one. I don't like going to the dentist because... do I need to even get into it all: the pokey tools, mirrors, sucker thing, water pistol, the LIGHT in your eyes, the nasty "polish", and the scrape-y thing combined with the noise that the scrape-y thing makes. Not to mention that I have a nonexistent flossing habit so this makes the overall visit painful and embarrassing.... "no. I don't floss".
As I laid in the chair doing my best impression of someone who is not white knuckled and rigid, I started to wonder what bad dental hygiene would do to a diabetic. Nap time research ensued.....
"When you have diabetes, high blood sugar can take its toll on your body, including your teeth and gums," says the Mayo Clinic. But "prevention is in your hands". As I read on, I found that basically diabetics need to go to the dentist just like the rest of us, and make sure to not follow in (this) Mom's footsteps when it comes to the flossing habits. Diabetes reduces the ability to fight bacteria which could lead to more plaque build up which could lead to tooth decay, gingivitis (early stage gum disease), and even periodontitis (advanced stage gum disease.... the y.u.c.k.y. one... I will not go into detail, just know that it is bad). All of these types of infection will lead to higher blood sugars (among other things such as heart disease) and so continues the vicious cycle.
Lesson learned. Flossing habit will be rekindled.... tomorrow... still a bit sore from this morning's war against my mouth. After reading all of that I have no choice but to amp up my dental hygiene routines. At our house, it is monkey see, monkey do, and I want my monkey to have a beautiful smile, with her very own God given teeth, when they put her picture in the paper for having her 110th birthday party on the moon. Or something extravagant like that.
Now, go dig out your floss and call your dentist!
Oh, going to the dentist can make most people nervous, but it's something that you really need to do. Making a flossing a habit is certainly worth the effort, since it's really important in removing all that junk stuck between your teeth. It's a hard habit to get used to - kind of like going to the dentist. But once you get the hang of it, you'll be doing it as easily as Tarzan hangs around the trees!
ReplyDelete-Wilton Winrow