Sam’s last post has misinformation  about how often I change my tooth brush. The scenario is how Sam pointed it out except for I knew that Sam was going to take that comment I made incorrectly. The tooth brush I was using was a dental “trial” toothbrush they give you after a visit. After one week of use, I said throw it out because it’s a cheap toothbrush. He asked, “do you seriously throw your tooth brush out after 1 week?” I said, “of course”. This was obviously a lie by me, but at least it led to a blog post.

The tooth brush I use at home is a battery operated Oral-B that looks like this:

I’ll use them for as long as the bristles stay firm and not worn out. That’s usually around 3 months. I find that if you use a tooth brush for too long, it ends up becoming contaminated with bacteria and is disgusting. Here is what the reader should take away from Sam’s post:

“Tom will point to my poor dental hygiene to invalidate my claim (I actually have excellent dental hygiene, I just don’t go to the dentist) but I think that’s irrelevant.

Is Sam a DDS? How does he know he has excellent dental hygiene? I didn’t see the guy floss one time on vacation. You cannot possibly have excellent dental hygiene without flossing. Maybe he does, but if I had to guess based off of the frequency of his toe nail trimming…let’s leave it at that.

This is what I know about going to the dentist, you should go. Why? First off, the x-rays show gum decay. Gum decay is caused by morsels of food sitting in between your teeth. I know that my pockets are ranked as a 2-3 on the scale of gum decay. If you get into 4 or 5, you’ll have long-term issues.

The other reason to go to the dentist is to make certain you don’t have cavities. As Chad used to tell me, my mouth doesn’t hurt, why would I need to go to the dentist? If I recall correctly, he’d regret that statement with something like 20 cavities upon his first visit.

I can’t tell Sam he’s an idiot for not going to the dentist. It’s only my opinion that the dentist prevents more expensive mouth issues. With regard to brushing my teeth, I brush 2 times a day, sometimes 3 or 4, floss daily, and see the dentist twice a year.