Hello Readers...It's Your Mother

I hate to be a nag, but have you been to your dentist lately? Are you flossing regularly? Do you use a Sonicare toothbrush?

A Cautionary Tale
I used to floss irregularly (maybe once a week or in spurts for short periods). I brushed my teeth regularly. In the past few year, I've used a Sonicare toothbrush both at home and when I traveled. I used to go to the dentist about once a year for a cleaning. Each year I'd go, they'd tell me my teeth were in perfect shape.

Then, my dentist's practice was bought by one of those warehouse dentist chains that set up huge office spaces with cubicles instead of treatment offices. I went once, but hated the experience. Especially when I realized they were only interested in bilking my insurance company for as much money as they could by treating me for things I didn't need.

I stopped going to the dentist for a few years after that, until Thaddeus found an excellent dentist. And even though she wasn't accepting new patients, she was willing to take both Thaddeus and I on as new patients.

Coincidentally, I also started having a problem with one of my back molars. Timing seemed perfect.

Perhaps if I had gotten to see her six months previously, the timing would have been perfect.

As it turns out, I had quite a few dental problems which went completely undetected, requiring me to have the problem molar extracted.

Now, why do I write this?

Mostly, it's to alert folks (who don't already know) that there are some things I wish I had been doing about my dental care that I wasn't.

Here is my list of "motherly" dental tips:

1. See your dentist or periodontist at least once a year. It's important.
2. Learn how to brush your teeth correctly. I'm amazed that I didn't learn until I was over 50 years old.
3. Minimally floss every day.
4. Ideally, use inter-dental brushes



5. Gum disease (even rather serious gum disease) can be occurring without you know it at all, until it's too late to save a tooth.

I know most of you have heard at least some of this for years, but for some reason I didn't pay much heed to it, and I wish now that I had.

Current Knitting/Spinning
First off, I worked on both my Austermann Step project and my Heirloom Lace baby blanket project since my last blog entry.

I only have a photo of the sock project this week.

You'll note I finished the first sock, and started the second, and they will be relatively close to matching.

I don't have a lace photo because I didn't really get enough done since last blog entry to merit a photograph.

That's because I started a new spinning project over the weekend.

Stay tuned for more details on what I'm currently spinning.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Carol writes, "I have recurring dreams about losing my purse/wallet, too -- do you have similar ones?

I don't. Honestly I might, but I don't remember my dreams. Even when I wake up in the middle of one, the content fades from memory faster than I can take a mid-sleep gerontological pee (in the loo, not in Depends or anything).