I got my 1st cavity when I was 31. That's right, just a few years ago. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!) In any case, it was a shocker! Why now? Why at 31? Had I let my dental hygiene go? Why me? Oh the humanity!! When my dentist Dr. Gayle Reardon whipped out the hypodermic needle (which in my perception was the size of a super-soaker) to inject the Novocaine, I nearly levitated out of the chair, up to the ceiling!

She had to stop, put down the syringe, grab a box of Kleenex and comfort a blubbering, incoherent, needle-phobic, nitwit, until I calmed down. She assured me I wasn't the first person who had completely gone to pieces upon seeing a needle, the size of a Buick, (okay maybe she didn't say that) coming toward their mouth. I think she was lying to be kind.

In any case, if you've ever been in that chair having a cavity filled, there may be some hope of avoiding it in the distant future. A new joint study by the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Oral Sciences at the University of Washington is raising anticipation that someday we might heal our own cavities with a peptide-laced remineralizing toothpaste.

But even then you'd have to be in the very early stages of tooth decay, according to some dental experts. Which is okay with me. Since my initial visit with Dr. Gayle, I have been vigilant about keeping these choppers in good shape. I have no intention of getting any more heart-stopping surprises while I'm in her office!

Source: Newsweek


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