The cost of neglect

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'll have a lot of dental work needed soon.  This will be expensive, but there may be a way to handle it financially so that I won't even break stride.  That's not an optimal solution, but it may work.  I'll have to ask the dentist to be sure.

However, there's no getting around the fact that I'm going to lose a tooth.  This is the third one that I will have lost, which could have been avoided if I hadn't been neglectful, as all three have been lost for the very same reason.

Not all of the news is bad.  This allows me to mention a couple of practices that probably saved me from a worse outcome.  I use Listerine, which helped my gums.  My gums are in fairly good shape.  Secondly, I use a floridated toothpaste, which kept the enamel in good shape on almost all my teeth.  Unfortunately, these two practices didn't stop tooth decay, and the reason for it was that I don't floss often enough.  The tooth that will be lost had a hidden cavity between the teeth that blossomed into a real problem without my knowledge.  So, two practices could have avoided this loss:  more frequent dental visits and more frequent flossing.

The loss of a tooth is like a death in the family.  The tooth cannot be replaced.  I am going to mourn the loss, as you might imagine.

People might think that only proves I'm a dummy.  In this instance, yes.  On other accounts too, probably true.  But everybody is guilty of neglect, I suspect.  It's all a matter of priorities.  You could be great with your teeth, but terrible with other aspects of your life.  One good practice doesn't change all the other bad practices.  Only by changing all bad practices can progress be made.  So, I feel good about what good practices I do have with my dental health, but I am not too happy about other bad outcomes.  Taking the specific out to the general case, people should not get too happy with themselves.  They could be neglecting something important, and they may regret it someday.

Just sayin'.