Smile

This is kind of stupid, but I went to the dentist today for my regular cleaning and check-up, and the hygenist told me that I had a lot less plaque on my teeth than on my previous visit. I mentioned that I had been paying more attention to what I eat, and I've been having salad for lunch a lot. She said that vegetables and roughage work naturally to clean plaque from the teeth, so that may have helped. It's such a tiny thing, but it's nice to have some independent semi-confirmation that you are doing something that's good for you.

I'm also considering getting braces, something I've wanted to do my whole life. My teeth have always been crooked, but when I was growing up, my parents did not have the money for me to have orthodontia, and then a little later it was get braces or go to parochial high school, and my parents decided on my behalf that they felt my education was more important. My dentist deals specifically with adult braces, and the mechanics have advanced quite a bit--no more rubber bands, no more sharp edges on the metal, fewer office visits spaced farther apart. And my insurance will pay for some of it, so it will take some of the financial sting out ot it.