Teeth&Gums

Save Your Teeth and Gums!

By Vonia Martin

Not too long ago I had to have a molar pulled. For over twenty years I ignored my teeth and gums. Sure I brushed, maybe even twice a day, at times. I smoked cigarettes and other things, some not legal, I chewed on ice and opened things with my teeth.  Totally taking my health and teeth for granted. Needless to say, I wasn’t flossing on any regular basis maybe if I had something stuck between them. When ever I did brush I brushed my tongue, as well. After twenty years I finally received some consequences having to pay with a molar and I miss it so much! I never knew how big molars are. This particular one had a filling in it and it had fallen out then my tooth split apart and couldn’t be saved. Soon I am facing another loss of a tooth, this one will be noticeable and I am very vane. I keep hoping it will stabilize as the infection goes away but wishful thinking on my part. 

My baby teeth rotted out of my head as a kid, oral hygiene wasn’t high on any of the foster homes list of priorities. Nor was it something my biological Mom taught me, I can remember having to ask my foster mom for a toothbrush when I did finally realize my breath was awful. My friends baby sitter is who told me, when I was eight, to brush my tongue as well as my teeth but nothing about flossing. This may not be your experience and I would bet that it isn’t so what is your excuse for not taking care of your teeth and gums? 

My teeth are in excellent condition with no cavities after 20+ years of neglect but the bone that holds them is almost gone. Years and years of smoking all kinds of things is catching up with me. I have since quit all those things but the damage is done so I will probably lose all my teeth eventually. This is not good since I will lose half my face with them, I have a big mouth with big teeth. My smile is everything, my best feature by far. Without it, I don’t want to know. It will be a hefty price to pay for what? A weakness? I guess it’s better then my health. That is if I am even done paying, it may be just the beginning. Most people who age out of the system don’t live this long, fifty-one. This I hope will change, but only if they are able to be healthy with a good quality of life. If not let the statistics stand as is because no one wants to live passed their usefulness and when you are a foster child that’s exactly how you feel; useless. 

Flossing is key to a healthy mouth and a healthy mouth is key to a healthy body. Many things are key to a healthy body and mouth but without a healthy mind neither will matter much. Exercise is a must for the over all health of a person and flossing is the exercise for mouth health. We have all kinds of excuses not to do something but there is no excuse for not doing these two life expanding things. 

We are so fortunate to live in a time where all this information is available to anyone who wants it. Then to be of mind and body to utilize this information should not be cheapened by ignoring it. We must give value to it if we are to evolve as a species and the only way to do that is through action. It takes effort and time to get and stay healthy, the older we get the more time and effort it will take but by then what else do we have to do anyway? But then at a certain point we are just old. It will happen is happening and just because we fight it with every fiber of our being it won’t stop. We must come to terms with death and aging. It’s like I always say that I wouldn’t mind this aging so much if I didn’t have to look old but the only cure for getting old is death. So here I age so far fairly gracefully but it may catch up with me sooner or later. I say let it be later. Noe that I'm older and hopefully wiser, I'm taking my health a lot more seriously. This includes my teeth and gums and what's left of my jaw bone. You've heard the saying "better late then never"? When it comes to our health late could mean death so how much better could that be? I guess all our problems would be solved unless we carry them with us to whatever awaits us on the other side. Being that no one has managed to come back from death to tell us what awaits us any thing is possible. 

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