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.
Never expected that when you both mentioned you and Sam would be joining blog forces to amp up the quality and frequency of content that so much practical and contentious dental hygiene debate would arrive so quickly. 😉
Finally some synergy.