Hot tip from Grandma

~ MaryG

What’s one habit that has improved your life the most?

I’m 61. Been married 33 years. I’m retired, after a 30+ year career in fundraising. I’m a mom and a grandma. Both of my parents are still alive and functioning.

The one habit I’ve noticed that improves quality of life for most people is …

I’m literally drawing a blank.

I’d say “walking outside,” but I’m currently dealing with heel pain and haven’t been walking much. (And neither of my parents ever go for a walk outside.)

OK, here’s one small thing: floss your teeth. That’s something I didn’t do through my twenties, until a mean dentist had a talk with me. He basically shamed me into flossing. Now I floss all the damn time.

There are all kinds of health and financial benefits to having healthy teeth and gums. I’m not going to go into them, but you can google it.

I’d say tone down all that teeth whitening and stock up on good old dental floss.

18 thoughts on “Hot tip from Grandma”

  1. Nice post we don’t often think of flossing is being important but I do that now and did not even think about it as a habit. I realize it’s good when I get food particles out of my teeth from brushing. My dentist also impressed upon me the need to brush before you go to bed even if you have brushed after dinner and ate no snacks. a lot of dentists are rough about things like that as Jerry Seinfeld said “what’s the difference between a dentist and a sadist “answer newer magazines

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    1. Funny! 😂
      Now that I’m old, I also keep getting warned by my current dentist (a nice young woman) to not brush too HARD. I have not yet needed a major dental procedure. Knock on wood!

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  4. Having seen a Dentist for the first time in years I am now an avid flosser – morning, day and night. I’m also brushing my teeth with the different hand: it is a slower process and therefore more thorough for cleaning, and apparently opens up pathways to the brain which slows down dementia as we age. I am right hand dependant so using the left for this purpose is a whole new ball game.

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    1. Interesting! I never heard the opposite hand theory for warding off dementia. My dentist is now urging me to not brush too hard, so maybe the opposite hand would help with that too. Will try! Thanks.

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  7. My dentist is always talking about interdental brushes, I’m assuming that is what you mean by flossing? Or do you mean what Julia Roberts does in “Pretty Woman’ with the the strawberry pips?
    If so then “flossing” is somewhat out of fashion here in the UK, its all about interdental brushing before cleaning your teeth which in my case means purchasing three different sizes. It’s also about “spit and don’t swill”. This means that when you have finished cleaning your teeth with your toothbrush you should spit out the debris but not swill your mouth with water because apparently leaving the toothpaste debris is good for preventing bacteria growth in-between your teeth?
    Who knew we could have a debate about “flossing”?😊

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    1. Flossing here means what Julia Roberts did with the strawberry seeds in Pretty Woman, lol. I’m shocked that it’s out of favor in the UK! I have never heard of interdental brushing or leaving toothpaste debris. A lot of people here also have “WaterPiks”—it’s like a stream of high-pressure water that acts like dental floss. 🦷😊

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      1. They sell the toothbrush looking thing that sprays jets of water between your teeth here too! I’m guessing it’s called a Waterpik?

        Tepe Brushes come in 8 different thicknesses so you can buy the right ones for your teeth depending how close they are together.

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      2. WaterPik is a brand here. It’s not a brush but has a long handle. Never heard of Tepe, but it sounds more complicated than dental floss—and not as portable. 🤷‍♀️

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      3. I sometimes question “ how much of our hygiene, beauty regime is created by people trying to sell us more n more goods? “

        Are we idiots for believing the speel? My daughter is 29 and has only ever used a good old manual toothbrush n toothpaste and has perfect teeth!

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