The word of the day for February 12, 2008 is "periodontics" — noun plural but singular in construction — : a branch of dentistry that deals with diseases of the supporting and investing structures of the teeth including the gums, cementum, periodontal membranes, and alveolar bone.
I'm taking off to see Dr. Squire again this afternoon. They will be working on my upper right bicuspid—or rather on the gap where my upper right bicuspid should be. The whole point of this excercise is to get a tooth implant so I won't start losing the teeth around the gap. I won't tell you that vanity has nothing to do with it. I would like to have a smile without an gaps.
Dentistry—like so many other things—has developed tremendously in the past hundred years. In the late 1800s, dentistry was practiced by barbers and blacksmiths. There was not even a school of dentistry, and very little research. Now we have dentists who specialize in diseases of the mouth and gums, and those who work with children exclusively. We have dental hygienists to do the professional cleaning and education in home care. So many people working to keep our pearly whites... pearly white.
Our quote for the day is from Mason Cooley (b. 1927), U.S. aphorist. City Aphorisms, Second Selection, New York (1985):
The morose one refuses to smile even when he has just had his teeth cleaned.
;^) Jan
1 comment:
Oh Jan, Dentists...The very word is enough to give me the heebee geebies !! I would run a mile before I would pass a dentists. Even when I take Mary( she is one ) of these goody two shoes who go every 6 months. I won't go in with her I just wait in the car !!! I always say I would rather have my other leg chopped of than go to the dentist. and I aint joking!!! so good luck to you today. Love Sybil the cowardy custard !!
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