Dr. Dentist, DDS

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Yesterday, I had my regular six month cleaning at the dentist's. It was actually longer than six months - the last time I was in was at the end of June, when I had to get the okay from my dentist to proceed with my end-of-July knee surgery.

 

As usual, they had another new piece of technology. The cleaning instrument - you know, the metal with the hook that the nice dental hygienist uses to dig away at your built up tartar while you regret your life choices - has changed! Now it's a super-fast, micro-vibrating "water cleaner" that barely seems to touch the surface of your teeth. It was pretty sweet.

It got me thinking about the enormous changes in dentistry and tooth care in my lifetime. The first dentist I remember, when I was about 13-14, was Dr. Del Debbio, who was also the first civilian medical professional I ever saw. Dr. DD had huge fingers with black hair on his knuckles, which he stuck into my mouth without any gloves whatsoever. Yuch! He filled my first cavity (I've been blessed with hard, bacteria-resistant teeth) and I nearly fainted away under the onslaught of the enormous drilling machine.

Contrast to my own children, who didn't have cavities because their pediatric dentist painted their toothies with some magical film. By the way, I'm pretty sure we didn't have pediatric dentists when I was a youth. I don't think Dr. Del Debbio even liked kids.

Then there was the x-ray torture, when every square inch of your body was draped in lead while you clenched pieces of cardboard and film awkwardly between your teeth. The technician went into a different room, which makes me wonder, now, if I  was getting a perhaps unhealthy amount of radiation. Oh, well, it goes with all the lead I consumed, I guess. Now, the bits you clamp down on aren't much more comfortable, but it takes seconds and the images appear instantly on the technician's screen. Mirabile dictu!

 

 

Along with the technological improvements, I feel that dentists themselves are perhaps now graduate with some lectures on patient bedside manner.  In my lifetime, I've heard, "Your daughter is a real Sarah Heartburn," (Dr. DD to my mother) "Julia, you drool like a Labrador," and "My God, your bones are like rocks! I thought I was going to have to stand on the armrests to wrestle them out!" That last was from the oral surgeon who removed my wisdom teeth in my late twenties. 

 

There is one old tradition I'm a little sad to see go. Yes, if I managed to avoid screaming, Dr. Del Debbio would give me a lollipop. Got to keep those patients coming, after all!

How about you, dear readers? What dentistry improvements have you noticed? And have you had any memorable visits to your own version of Dr. DD?

Now they tell us...

Congratulations! The winner of Alicia Beckman's BITTERROOT LAKE is KAREN IN OHIO! Karen, email Leslie at leslie@lesliebudewitz.com to collect your win!! 

Congratulations too! The winner of Edith Maxwell's A CHANGING LIGHT is PAT D. Pat, email Edith at Edith@EdithMaxwell.com

HALLIE EPHRON: Since March, 2020, I’ve been in a cleaning frenzy. Wiping down packages with disinfectant before bringing them into the house. Wiping down park benches before sitting on them. Using my sleeve to open doorknobs. Pressing elevator buttons with my knuckle. 

Stockpiling cleaning supplies. Here's a fraction of my stash...

Now, experts tell us, “There’s really no evidence that anyone has ever gotten Covid-19 by touching a contaminated surface.” That’s Linsey Marr, an expert on airborne viruses at Virginia Tech. Quoted in the New York Times.

More good/bad news: Researchers are tell us that the virus spreads primarily through the air in both large and small droplets hanging in the air, and scouring door handles and railings and subway seats does little to keep us safe.

As of April 5, the CDC caved and updated its cleaning guidelines:

The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus. It is possible for people to be infected through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (fomites), but the risk is generally considered to be low.

So, in most everyday scenarios and environments, according to the CDC, people do not need to use chemical disinfectants. The best prevention is to wash your hands, wear a mask, and give the rest of humanity a wide berth.

So why have we been so focused for so long on surface cleaning when there’s no evidence that anyone has ever gotten COVID-19 by touching a contaminated surface? I’d argue that it’s the same reason we knock on wood. Because it’s something we can do in the face of something big and scary and that we barely understand and certainly cannot control.

So I suppose it’s a good sign that alcohol wipes and toilet paper are no longer in short supply. Ketchup is. We the people – we have our priorities.

How’s the cleaning going in your neck of the woods and do you have enough ketchup?

Spring Chores

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This past Saturday was the astronomical First Day of Spring here in the northern hemisphere, and amazingly, here in Maine it was the start of several days of bright and sunny weather. (As an aside, when growing up, I learned the equinoxes and solstices were on the 21st. Has that changed? Or do we just know about the exact day and hour because of the internet now?) In my yard, piles of snow have melted to a few icy lumps, and you need wellies to walk about anywhere outdoors because the turf everywhere is the consistency of a peat bog. No sign of crocuses yet (I didn’t rake out the bed in the fall, so they’re fighting through sodden dead vegetation) but the daffodil shoots are up.

All of this gets me thinking about… spring chores. We all have them - even you snowbirds will be thinking about cleaning and planning for the move north, right? For the outdoors at my place, it’s going to be clearing away branches and raking. We’ve had a freakish number of wind storms, and wherever I have trees on the property it looks like a massive game of pick-up-sticks. As for the raking, I confess I wasn’t quite on top of it this past fall, and so got caught out when we had a November snowstorm. The good news is it’s a LOT easier to tote old, dead, dried leaves than it is to move them around when they’re fresh off the tree.

Inside, the increasing sunlight has led me to notice the effects of a whole winter’s worth of 1) multiple pets indoors 2) blown hot air going constantly and 3) burning wood, ditto. In the Before Times, I would have been cleaning up the dust/hair more aggressively, but let’s face it - with no friends over, no dinner parties, no one except me and occasional daughters in the house at all - there hasn’t been a ton of motivation. But it’s got to be dealt with by the time the really warm weather rolls around, if only to prevent dust tornadoes when I have the windows open. (What a sweet thought! The open windows, not the flying dust.)

How about you, Reds? What’s on your list of spring chores?

JENN McKINLAY: I just spent last weekend spring cleaning - washing every inch of the inside of the house, including moving the furniture to see what new pets have spontaneously generated out of a few months of accumulated pet hair. Today is yard work day! Here in AZ we have to get it done before it gets too hot and with the thermometer flirting with the mid-80’s, that means NOW. My modest yard will be mowed, pruned, and edged and my annual sunflower patch will be planted to welcome the love birds back in June. Yay!  

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Chore number one: waiting for the ducks.  Chore number two: watching the crocuses and then tulips coming up.  Chore number three: Watching all birds in our back yard. Chore number four: Wondering who is going to dust around here, la dee dah. 

RHYS BOWEN: we arrived back at our Arizona house to find it immaculate! We had loaned it to a friend of our daughter who couldn’t move into a new home on time and obviously they paid for a cleaning service. And left us a toaster oven! So no hard cleaning here. However when we get back to CA I’m sure there will be plenty waiting for us. We have been going through closets, throwing out clothes, also John has reorganized the pantry. Otherwise enjoying glorious weather and seeing friends!

HALLIE EPHRON: Our crocuses and snowdrops and blue scilla are starting to emerge and today I took the patio chairs out of the garage. And I walked to the mailbox without a coat. And a screech owl has returned to nest in a tree across the street and the bird bath is teeming with chickadees. Yesterday I saw 8 robins on someone’s lawn. SPRING!

I’m ready for it. Last fall I had the house painted and the yard cleaned up; a few months ago I had all the area rugs removed, cleaned, and replaced. Now I’m looking out through smudgy windows. I’ll call the window washers and soon I’ll be spring-watching through clear windows.

LUCY BURDETTE: We will be packing up and heading north sometime soon, so that’s as close to spring cleaning as I’ll get. John has quite a garden out on our small balcony, so all that will have to be given away or something. Meanwhile, what I really need to focus on is WRITING!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: You and me both, Lucy! But, ugh, my house is so dirty, worse than it's been this entire last year, and I just can't seem to get on top of it. And now spring chores! Putting up winter clothes, throw pillows, blankets, etc. Getting summer clothes out of the attic. Lots of stuff to do in the garden, getting all the dead plants out of pots, putting in new ones. Fertilizing roses, drenching crape myrtles, etc. The house desperately needs power-washing before we can spring clean the windows, but that is NOT MY JOB. A fun thing--the hummingbird feeders should go up today!

 

JULIA: How about you, dear readers? What's on your spring chores to-do list?