FLOSSophy
FLOSSophy
I’m very tired. It’s been a big day. Fulfilled, but just tired. I can barely lift my eyelids from sleepiness. Now I have to go through this ritual of dental care before I sleep. It’s so ritualistic I might as well establish a religion out of it, some sort of philosophy; or should I say, FLOSSOPHY. This is because the habit of flossing is underrated. But looking back, I would not trade flossing for nothing.
Here’s how the story began. I was a teenager when I read an article on the importance of flossing. It gave me 2 reasons to do it. Number one, a beautiful smile. Number two, avoiding the pain of going to the dentist. Of course these are the main two. But there are other ancillary benefits as well.
That innocent article saved me from the toothaches that plague tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people worldwide. I have heard of dreadful stories of people fainting their way to the dental clinics. I personally have not experienced a toothache so painful that the world could crumble. But the point here is that we must not ignore the basic, simple, yet profound habits being instilled in us.
A personal philosophy is a collection of ideas and beliefs that we may have acquired growing up. Then that worldview/philosophy is carried into adulthood. True, a worldview could be fluid; we can restructure our philosophy as we live our lives, discarding the things that don’t make sense anymore and integrating the realizations we have along the way.
This philosophy could be in the form of habits (good or bad) and mindset (good or bad). But we don’t dwell on mindsets here. We only address the habits that either serve us or can break us. In the brushing of the teeth’s case, installing that daily habit can serve one for a lifetime. Retaining organic teeth is much more valuable than the most expensive false teeth.
Tips on how to maintain dental hygiene: you may forget to brush and floss your teeth in the daytime, but never ever ever ever, I mean ever, do I have to repeat the word “ever” again? Never ever neglect the brushing of your teeth in the evening. This is because our mouth produce LESS saliva in the evening, and saliva is actually what washes away the bacteria during the day.
You may choose to still brush in the morning, but if you have forgotten to brush in the evening, that’s putting the carriage before the horse. You want to brush your teeth at a time just before your body produce less saliva. A lot of people neglect brushing in the evening, and just would brush in the morning. This is not wise, because you may think that you have bad breath in the morning, but actually neglecting to brush in the evening is the cause of having a foul smell the next day. The bacteria were having a party the night before.
Of course there are many other factors for halitosis. There is internal health conditions and diet, and metabolic illnesses. But if you were to only have one brushing time, evening is the key. Moreover, you don’t want to brush too many times, because the toothpaste can be abrasive to your enamel. Therefore, I have made this resolution that if ever I brush during the daytime, I only brush mechanically, without toothpaste. This is so as to mechanically remove the food debris and let the mouth does its magic with the saliva.
So this is the habit that serves me even up to now. And I have not lost a tooth ever, not even my molars. I may have investment vehicles that pay me dividends, but I would not trade my teeth for anything. The ability to laugh and smile without insecurity is priceless, more priceful than any securities on NASDAQ.
By the way, I floss what what they call hammer floss. I can only count in my hands the number of times I use the typical thread floss. Been using hammer floss for ages. But that’s just my personal flossophy. You don’t have to copy it.