I should probably be posting this Presidentially, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Here is my True Confession -- since Covid gave me an excuse, I haven't gone to the dentist. All my life, I was a good boy, and went every 6 months like I was told to do by the Dental-Industrial Complex, but during Covid something in me was broken, or maybe I discovered my Inner Rebel, but whatever the cause, it's now well over 3 years since I've been to the dentist, and nothing feels any different.

You should really get in there with your fingernail.

I'm going to the dentist next week, but I chipped one of my teeth at the beginning of the month so now I'm nervous about it. (Small chip, no pain, so they told me I didn't need to come in early but I do have an extra timeslot added after my cleaning for them to fix it.)

So my lifehack to suggest to you all is don't eat your fork!

During the pandemic I ended up chipping two teeth, about a month apart, so I had a few months of worrying, "am I just falling apart; will I loose all my teeth?" But when I went into the dentist they said, "don't worry, it's probably just coincidence" and the fix was really easy.

Decline the x-rays, delcine the extra fluoride treatments for your kids. For a while I had concerns that our dentist was committing actual fraud (bills looked suspicious, insurance was paying), but unnecessary x-rays very much seem like a legal way to pad the bill. I might relent if they tell me it's been 3 or 4 years, but every six months is pointless.

One of the coolest x-rays I've ever seen was my 7-year-olds panoramic, though. Oh, my god: teeth everywhere. Would make a shark envious.

We have also cut WAY back on dentist visits since the pandemic, even though all checkups are covered 100%. For some reason our dentist, whose schedule used to be so slack that you could call and get an almost immediate appointment, is now booked for 5 months. She says it's pandemic catch-up but I would have figured there would be more peeps in the world.

My best tooth story is that my 12 yo nephew lost a tooth (normal process, no accidents) while we were in Alaska. I didn't realize he was carrying it around with him until I saw him kneeling by a glacial creek.

Me: What are you doing?

Nephew: I'm putting my tooth in the creek! In 2 million years someone will find it and then I'll be in a museum!

Me: Wow. [thinking: I love your optimism!]

Nephew [seriously]: I discussed it with my dentist.

New idea. Find a dead grizzly, embed a tooth from a corgi, and jam the tooth into a throat-adjacent bone of the bear.

8: Manufacturing the turducken of future fossils!

I am a congenital skeptic about the process of making far-flung deductions from a fraction of a fossilized kneecap or the like. I always flash back to my college prof saying "If you found Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito's fossilized bones in the same area, would you think they were separate species?"

He hasn't seen Twins.

My now husband didn't go to the dentist for eight years. I even made him buy cheap dental insurance for the purpose of getting a check up and he still didn't go. Then he moved to his home country for a year where basic dental care is free and he didn't go for 9 months, until I threatened to break up with him unless he went to the dentist. He never flosses at all. I told him his teeth were probably rotting on the inside and he was weeks away from dying of a brain infection. Anyways, he went and his teeth were completely healthy, he just had some minor plaque build up. He's never had a cavity in his life. Some people are just lucky bastards I guess.

She! Don't be sexist, Mobs. ;)

god i love flossing & brushing my teeth! i think bc a) beginning of pre bedtime ritual so relaxation is at hand, b) i like to balance on each foot for a minute each as i brush i don't know it's just fun, and most importantly c) the feel of clean teeth* when you get into bed is just so nice!

a v good friend whose last couple of years have been rough (ending a miserable marriage) went to the dentist recently & had semi horrific news of a "bacterial bloom" on her gums & was freaked out so i tried to convert her to the joys of brushing your teeth & she was like no you are mad, so i guess i am. ahhhh though it is so damn pleasant to have clean teeth!

* & clean, plumped up well moisturized skin mmmmmm.

speaking of which, the sali hughes range from revolution is seriously excellent value, highly recommend. once they add a retinol & a sunscreen it's going to be completely self contained one stop shopping for anyone who doesn't want to have to sort through different brands/products.

also the v v v thick foaming cleanser from hada labo in the blue & white tube is the only cleanser i've found that works on a driiiipppping wet face post bay swim without being drying. recommend & you truly only need a tiny amount.

also also i think i'm finally going to take the plunge on a tretinoin rx. by my own rules (no rx, no needle, no scalpel) i'll thereby lose my amateur status in the anti face aging stakes.mixed feelings.

Sorry. I just assumed all women have seen Twins because it had a pregnant Schwarzenegger.

The only thing I recall about Twins was the silly-looking poster. Maybe I should finally watch it.

I just realized I was confused and there are two DeVito-Schwartzenegger movies.

Heebie - Get a Waterpik. If you add chlorine dioxide mouthwash to the water and/or hydrogen peroxide it helps a lot with gum plaque.

13: Avene makes a Retrinal cream which is not Rx but one step before tretinoin. I order it online from France because it is half the price there compared to here. A oxitative peeling.

Also, differin is OTC. Not as good as tretinoin for anti aging to be sure.

17.2 - lol i'm soliciting dermatologist recs from bev hills connections. go big or go home!

How many times can you resuse mouthwash? The bottle doesn't say, but obviously it doesn't foam up or anything like toothpaste, so it's unchanged by use.

13.1 that sounds kind of like my wife. Do you also like getting your teeth polished at the dentist?

My new dentist accused me of not flossing daily, and when I protested (I do floss! every day!) she correctly guessed that I use Glide floss. I like it because it's comfortable, but she says that the qualities I like about it (it's a very thin, silky ribbon) make it ineffective at plaque removal. I bought GUM floss at her recommendation, and it's been a disaster - it's made of multiple strands of floss twisted together, so it's bulky and textured, and it's so hard to maneuver between my teeth. It keeps shredding, and then I get little bits of plastic stuck between my molars. Surely this isn't better for my dental health.

The GUM floss is also very heavily infused with mint flavoring. I usually take out my contacts before flossing my teeth, but sometimes I forget, and then my eyes hurt because my fingers are so spicy.

20 - not particularly when its happening, 💕 the result.

21 - i use glide & my dentists always love my teeth & gums. i also use an interdental brush where possible, & dip that in an anti plaque mouthwash about once a week.

21 -- I also have a couple of teeth that tend to shred floss, and like "Smart Floss" ( https://drtungs.com/products/92-smart-floss.html )

24. Thank you! I will try it.

7 is really lovely.

My new dentist accused me of not flossing daily, and when I protested (I do floss! every day!) she correctly guessed that I use Glide floss. I like it because it's comfortable, but she says that the qualities I like about it (it's a very thin, silky ribbon) make it ineffective at plaque removal.

WHAAAAT. Glide is the best! The other ones can't get through the tight spots without slamming against my gums when they finally pop through.

A lot of what the dentist says to you seems to be luck/genetics. My wife never had a cavity until she was 45 or something, is assiduous about flossing, uses all sorts of water pics and electric toothbrushes, and hates going to the dentist because they chide her for not doing enough flossing. I never floss (well, OK, after popcorn I do), eat about 1/3 of my body weight in sugar every day and I always get compliments on what a great job I'm doing.

Also, although I hate the plastic waste, those little flossers are the absolute best. Except the ones that drop the floss on the first tooth (wtf?). Maybe I have fat fingers but I have no interest ever again in using floss off a spool.

You could just use two vise grips held in a third vise grip.

I need traditional threaders or threaded tips because I have a permanent bridge behind on my lower front teeth. But the main thing I see in stores is either traditional floss or the pre-strung tuning fork things.

eat about 1/3 of my body weight in sugar every day

Impressive! I hope you are donating your body to science.

29: I will report back once I get it to work.

I started using an electric toothbrush about two years ago after having only ever used the muscle-powered kind, and noticeably less time is needed for plaque-scraping at the dentist. I even get compliments now.

13: I don't love it, but it's been a habit long enough that I find it hard to go to sleep if I haven't brushed before bed. Unfortunately, since I rely on habit strength to encourage me, adding flossing to the routine as an adult has been a much tougher adjustment. Because I just want to go to bed once I finish brushing, but I have to stand here torturing myself and bleeding instead.

I wonder if, by analogy go jump humping, there isn't an Amish electric toothbrush that involves shaking the floor.

Honestly flossing is absurd.

So is showering, but we all do that every week.

Speak for yourself I clean my body with a thin strip of nylon.

35 made me laugh, but that doesn't mean I approve of it.

36. The other day a friend of mine was telling me how much she loved Fortnite, and she made it sound so fun and appealing. But starting to play Fortnite in 2023 would be like joining Facebook or watching the original Star Wars trilogy for the first time. I have to wait until it cycles around and becomes cool again, like Oregon Trail and scrunchies.

I think I've told the story where a dental hygienist looked at my records and said that since it had been a couple years since my last cleaning, the appointment was going to be ready unpleasant for both of us. But I didn't notice anything worse than any other appointment I'd ever had up to that point, and until that gap I'd always followed the recommended schedule.

It really was awful.

I like Glide floss. There used to be this awesome spongy floss from oral B. It didn't hurt, and you just knew it was practically vacuuming up the gunk.

I'm very annoyed that after becoming a much more diligent flosser, I had an appointment with the most competent and knowledgeable hygienist I've had in years, and she told me that manual flossing can lead to gum recession (!) and I should switch to a waterpik.

I hate electronic devices for ordinary activities. I don't even have an electric can opener or pencil sharpener.

We have a waterpik because one of us has braces. And an electronic pencil sharpener, but no electronic can opener.

We don't eat much canned food.

13: I'm getting a lower lid blepharoplasty in September. It's 100% vanity and I never would have dreamed of it in my former life and now I don't care. Asserting ownership of one's body etc.

43.1: I had it happen. I didn't floss diligently but had a dental thing where I was advised to skip any regular cleanings for a year, so I figured, all right, gotta floss every day. When I got to return to normal cleanings, the hygienist noted receding gums. So I regressed to not really flossing much.

I hear that people generally have significantly fewer cavities due to widespread use of electric toothbrushes. It seems to have been the only thing that stopped AJ from getting new cavities (he is very unlucky, despite doing everything recommended, and hates seeing new dentists who ask about his routine).

43.1 and 47: electric toothbrushes help a ton. For little kids sealant and fluoride treatments are important too.

Thanks, Heebie. This made me realize that I'm due for a dentist's appointment right around now. I guess I just never scheduled a follow-up after my last appointment. It was over a year between that appointment and the one before it, because the previous dentist stopped taking my insurance and it took a while to find one that did. Yes, US healthcare.

I'm on Delta Premier but many have dropped the PPO plan. I think I would probably stick with my current dentist and pay out of pocket. It's a hard to find a good dentist. Mine is closed to new patients.

I hate electronic devices for ordinary activities. I don't even have an electric can opener or pencil sharpener.

This is me, too. Ok, I have both those examples and sometimes I love them. But the sound does irritate me. I hate the dustbuster over just sweeping something up

But starting to play Fortnite in 2023 would be like joining Facebook or watching the original Star Wars trilogy for the first time.

I had forgotten about your Star Wars synopsis. That was great.

46: I did upper lids a few years ago. We were able to spin it as "medical" because it made night driving difficult that my lids drooped so much, and my eye doctor wanted to see old ID photo pictures to make sure it wasn't a new and sudden thing (which would have been a sign of something neurological). The procedure was done in a place that was definitely aimed at vanity cosmetic stuff and was weirdly different from the medical spaces I was used to. I think I weirded them out a little bit by declining the Valium they wanted to set me up with, and by taking public transportation home from the procedure.

Maybe the Valium was homemade and you hurt their feelings?

53, 46: the care being extended by my lovely bh contacts in coming up with sf derm recs is really nice & also hilarious. lourdes, would totally welcome any bay area non surgical derm recs! i sometimes fantasize about an extremely light touch subtle encounter with the knife, but the post op period when i couldn't swim in the bay for presumably a couple of weeks always puts the kibosh on the whole thing. 🤣

Does how fast the second line appears in your covid test indicate how infected you are? Because it took like 3 minutes.

When I had Covid, I tested positive for close to 10 days. The line always appeared quickly but got fainter over time. In conclusion, I have no idea.

Hope you're feeling better, no matter what the line says.

When I had covid it took like 3 seconds for the second line to appear. Assuming you got a good sample and used the right amount of drops, it seems to me like longer for the line to appear should mean less viral load. Some chemical reaction is happening and it's going to happen faster if you have more of the relevant protein in the sample. Similarly, if you end up with a really light line that means the load is lower.

I feel pretty good except for the periods of uncontrollable coughing.

56: it indicates how much virus is in the sample, which may or may not correlate with how much virus is in you.

I used the Qtip of Correlation, taken from Karl Pearson's medicine cabinet and handed down through the generations.

Speaking of skin, I've realized that I need to use hydrocortisone instead of lotion. This annoys me.

63: Just remember that stuff tends to thin your skin over time. Great when you need it but you do nick more easily.

That explains why I feel insults so accutely.

No, that's the roid rage from the oral steroids. Topical just leave you bleeding every time you do any sort of physical work.

I'm bleeding right now just from casual scratching. That's why I need to use the hydrocortisone.

55: I got most of my beard annihilated by the proprietor of the enviable domain name doctorofbeauty dot com. She was fine but not necessarily worth crossing a bridge for - I think basically anyone could have operated that laser equipment just as competently. Now I'm on an interminable waitlist elsewhere for electrolysis on the like 20% of it that had gone white and hence wasn't laserable (Pareto principle here too? really?) though at least there's no visible shadow. I have all kinds of ideas about dermabrasion and such but I don't know how seriously I'll go after it, I may be hot enough for my own purposes already.

Also my plan to join the army and foist the costs on the taxpayer needs revision, I guess.

the like 20% of it that had gone white and hence wasn't laserable

White hair can't be destroyed with a laser? Wow, I have a useless superpower!

I guess I wanted too long on the back hair.

68: i'll share the intel from bev hills once i have the full report.

OT: Ron Perlman is threatening to burn down houses and a little girl pelted Mike Pence in the back of the head with a water balloon from forty yards. I think the revolution is about to start.

Indeed.

OT but this is an interesting and furious article about that dam that got blown last month in Ukraine: https://wavellroom.com/2023/07/12/operational-implications-blowing-kakhovka-dam/

Makes the point (which I hadn't seen before) that it was a Soviet project so of course it was wasteful, destructive and largely pointless.

i pulled out my copy of carolyn drake's two rivers (https://carolyndrake.com/two-rivers) yesterday evening. just another aftermath of disastrous landscape scale engineering. but don't be deceived my chickadees, all us non soviets have been really enthusiastic with our very own "remakings" of waterways. i am happy the tachi yokuts are enjoying tulare lake but alas i rate below zero the chance it will be allowed to remain.

There is something other than a metal scraper tool?!?! I need this, as the terrible scraping is the worst part.

There is something other than a metal scraper tool?!?! I need this, as the terrible scraping is the worst part.

Maybe if you ask nice, they have a flint one.

If it's a comfort to anyone, digital Xrays use a lot less X in their rays than old fashioned film ones. My dental tech told me they had to really crank the power down to avoid overexposing. Still, it's Xrays.

I use Glide. My girlfriend uses some crochet yarn we can only find at Walmart. It's like those cables that hold up the Brooklyn Bridge.. She has great teeth though.

I bet knitting yarn would work even better.

76: my immediate reaction to "this is how Stalin flooded the homeland of his ethnic rivals with a pointless and destructive dam" would not be to put on my TASS hat and say "А у вас негров линчуют!!!" but you do you, honey.

hopefully your next & following reactions are less knee jerk & weirdly hostile!

77/78: Yes! Ultrasonic cleaning. Here's the basics.

(That is not my dentist. Just randomly found an explanation.)

83: aw, thanks! You too!

So wait: was there ever an actual 20th anniversary post here? Or any observation of the occasion?

I'd like to take a moment to remember this one, from not quite 20 years ago.

77/78 and 84: my hygienist uses both. She starts with the ultrasonic but then goes in with the manual scraper in certain spots.

Also at-home electric toothbrushes help a lot.

Having your own electric toothbrush seems wasteful when you can use the one at the library.

87: I love that it has zero comments.

Good lord, Valerie Plame.

90: I wonder if that is actually the case or artifact due to some manner of archives lossage. Note that everything on that page has "0 comments" but some in fact do do have a few comments if you click on them. Have previously identified significant chunks where comments appear to be missing.

I blame labs.

Hopefully the "fuck you, clown" thread is still intact

92: Yeah, I was just noticing the same thing.

93: It was a labs leak and maybe a conspiracy is what I hear you saying.