Stop Periodontal Disease!

Floss! Rinse with Listerine! Go to the dentist for a cleaning every 6 months! Just stop periodontal disease from forming in your mouth!

I have just come from the best dental cleaning of my life with one of my best girlfriends, yes, Dr. Alia. We had a long and juicy gab fest while waiting for the x-ray thing to heat up (I don't know if that's what it really does, I just know that we talked for a long time). She's on a hunt for a certain type of cavity for her board exam in Cleveland and won't stop cleaning people's mouths until she finds it.

I, luckily for me, did not have the cavity. But I do have early signs of periodontal disease! Space between my teeth at the roots is growing - and it's not supposed to. There is a history of bone loss in my family (uh, mom? why didn't you tell me about possible bone loss in my teeth? or maybe you did and I blew you off...), and it seems that I am at risk. The calculus that forms between your teeth sits there and just eats your teeth for lunch. You had a tuna sandwich, the calculus had your bones. Unlike in Harry Potter, there is no Madame Pomphrey to grow them back. Now, I don't look like an old hag with rotting teeth. Quite the contrary! There are just tiny separations between the tooth next the root and the next tooth - on some teeth like molars - seen only by xray. I drink gallons of milk, and my bones are pretty good shape, although I could take some supplements. But most importantly now, if I want to avoid little holes in-between my teeth, then I must floss and rinse with Listerine every day. And go see Alia every 3 months for a gab fest before my jaw is totally wacked out after the exam.

PS: the chow chow is done!!! Tune in next post for details…