Munching on crunchy carrots

I have a mouth full of fillings (I have all my permanent teeth). Many of them older than my dentist. But I love to munch on raw carrots. I don't want one of those "crunch" sounds to be a broken filling. So today I tried microwaving some carrot sticks about 10 seconds. Softens a little but leaves the crispness I like. Also, carrots are a nutritional powerhouse, and some studies show those properties are more available if cooked. Not sure 10 seconds is "cooking" but can't hurt. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf072304b?

I don't like the flavor or texture of "baby carrots" which are really just old tough carrots chopped and reshaped. I clean and slice the fullsize carrot. Much better flavor. I think the slimy fluid on them changes the flavor.

The Truth About Baby Carrots | Food Network Healthy Eats: Recipes, Ideas, and Food News | Food Network

I’ve learned to spell abscess

One of my cardinal rules is don't post about family without permission, but I'm claiming James 1:5, asking for wisdom and in faith receiving it. Our son Phil is in ICU so I'm crowd sourcing prayers for this setback from those who know him and us. Even if you're a total stranger--that's OK. This has nothing to do with his brain cancer, but has resulted from an infected tooth, which created an abscess, swelling and closed his airways. We took him to the ER (local small hospital near his home) on Saturday afternoon and after testing and waiting for a room, he was transferred to St. Ann's in Westerville late in the evening. Sunday morning the hospital chaplain called about 5 a.m. to say he'd been intubated so the four of us went right out. We were with him most of the day, and by late afternoon it looked like the antibiotics were kicking in and he was trying to kick butt for all the indignities of tubes, machines, beeping, noise, mother hover, etc. So that's a good sign. Don't mess with Phil. He can't talk right now, but he can say a lot with a thumbs up or an eye roll every mom knows. As soon as he is strong enough, there will be surgery.

The pastors from his church have visited and had prayers with all of us, and Pastor John said they played his favorites in church where he’s in the praise band.

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

Last week I had my 6 month dental check up and got the usual lecture. Floss. Use an electric toothbrush. I always have tons of plaque and 30+ years ago I had a gingivectomy, for an early case of gingivitis, and I still have ALL my permanent teeth--including four wisdom teeth that are extremely hard to floss, even with a huge mouth like mine. So, when we were out purchasing my new Gold's power spin on Saturday we sorted through the battery and electric toothbrushes. We've had an electric toothbrush for years with replacement heads, but it resides in my husband's bathroom, so I've maybe used it twice. Well, I discovered at Wal-Mart that I could buy 4 Oral-B CrossAction power battery operated toothbrushes for the same cost of 3 replacement heads of our electric model. Duh. That's a no brainer--it even came with the batteries. Now for the good news. I just love it! I've looked on line, and I don't see any price better than the $5.97 I paid at Wal-Mart. And boy, does it have power!

Oral-B CrossAction Power Whitening Toothbrush

This ad is ubiquitous

It's at every blog, news source, and on-line product I see. "My Teeth are Finally White." Not once did I bite--so I have no idea what would come up if I clicked.

I drink a lot of coffee and tea, and my teeth are definitely not white. I notice it in most people my age. Think about it. If you expose anything to the chemical make-up of food and saliva for many decades, you'll have staining, whether it's your brick walkway, a ceramic sink or your own teeth. I think I've found a solution. I've started wearing lipstick again. Had only used it occasionally for probably 30 years. Sure, it's an optical illusion, but it works.

And so, it is Christmas Eve Day. The temperature here in Columbus is 39 degrees, it rained during the night, so I'm hoping the ice build up is gone. I haven't left for the coffee shop yet, hoping a few more early travelers will clear the roads for me.

We'll have a casual dinner here with the children tonight--soup and sandwiches--then church, and tomorrow we'll go to Canal Winchester to our son's home. His handsome face and mellifluous voice were on TV yesterday, as he was interviewed about an unhappy event. For the second time in 6 weeks someone has died in front of his place of work in an auto accident. He and some fellow workers rushed out to help, but it was too late. Then a nurse stopped to help. God bless the Good Samaritans of this modern age. Two elderly women, one dead, one in critical condition according to the news. You almost pray that she expires without waking up--they were 81 year old twins, we heard. They've probably spent their lives together, sharing and caring, and so it was perhaps at the end.

3343 My baby has her first cavity!

After 15 years of avoiding dentists, my daughter finally went to one she picked out of the yellow pages for her husband, who had a broken crown. She had noticed a tiny black spot on a molar a few weeks ago. The dentist, after she recovered from the shock of seeing an adult mouth with no fillings, told her that because she had not had a cleaning in 15 years, they would need to do it in stages because of plaque build-up. Plaque is the sticky white stuff that forms on teeth and can cause tooth loss from gum disease--even a tooth with no cavities can be lost from poor dental care.

But when the dentist looked closer, there was also no plaque. My daughter brushes twice a day and flosses regularly. However, she also had thyroid cancer about 9 years ago (thyroid was removed), and has some dry mouth, so lack of saliva apparently cuts down on the plaque build up. Whatever the reason--good dental hygiene, good genetics or good luck, the dentist said she'd never seen a mouth like that. And the black spot? Neither the x-rays nor the dentist could find it, so my daughter had to tell them where it was--and yes, it was a cavity.


My baby's first cavity! She'll be 40 this year.

dental hygiene
dentist
gum disease