I just had to jump in and share what I have learned from going on the dental message boards. Those boards are exactly like these except everybody is dental phobic and if we hear some new gadget (like the Wand, which my dentist uses), or something about how to stop the spread of decay, well we like to share it with others.

A dentist on those boards explained to us about what sugar and foods with sugar (for example candy bars) does to teeth.

You can brush your teeth ten times a day and floss, but if you eat candy, drink soda pop or eat raisins, etc. etc, you will get decay and have cavities, and need route canals etc. etc.

Also, because many people are chocoholics, the timing of eating treats is very important (bet you never knew that right?).

If you have to eat anything with sugar, eat it with a meal. Not two hours after or two hours before. That's when the stuff sticks to your teeth and causes cavities. It's all about saliva production (and I really don't remember what the heck the dentist wrote on the boards ) but he was emphatic on the timing of snacks. Eat them with a meal and not after or before.

Also, brush with an electric toothbrush, not a manual one or a battery operated one. They do a better job.

If a person has good saliva production and never eats sugar laden candies or soda pop, his teeth should last a lifetime. And get your teeth cleaned twice a year.

So now that I found my phobia dentist, you'd better believe that I maintain my mouth.

I never ate any bad stuff because I'm diabetic so thank god I never cheated. Can you imagine? I'd probably be toothless by now.

And thank god for an invention called The Wand. NO more needles, syringes, whatever. It's absolutely amazing.

So I wish all of you good dental health.

And how on earth can gums grow over implants. I know many people with implants. All of them (and I mean all of them) had to have them done a second time. I have no idea what went wrong.
They paid a pretty penny for them too.

I'll always be afraid of going to the dentist, even though I really like my guy.
Thank god for xanax, that's all I can say.

love ya
Melody

P.S. Oh, here's a funny story. Alan goes out to make a wash today. I didn't see what he was wearing. I go to the laundromat and there he is in a muscle-man T-shirt with the sleeves rolled all the way up to reveal his newly muscular arms. He now wears a baseball cap backwards. Big change from a man who used to weigh 300 lbs.
As I said, he thinks he's Rocky. I told him if a blond dares to approach him, I'll scratch her eyes out!!! HE LOVES THIS!!!!!