Petit à petit, Yuan fait son nid.

Lesson 76 : Hygiene

A few days ago, my teeth were bleeding when I brushed them.

I talked to José about it.

He said, “Ahh, It is the time to visit the dentist and have your teeth cleaned.”

I said, “Ahh, maybe I can use salt to brush my teeth for the time being. Salt could be used for disinfection.”

José shook his head, “It is not a good idea. Salt is much too rough, it could hurt the enamel of your teeth.”

I said, “Really ?  But I used salt to brush my teeth when I was young, and it seemed Ok.”

José was surprised, “You used salt to brush your teeth ?”

I said, “Yes, to save money. My mother asked me to use salt to brush my teeth.”

José said, “And how about your parents ? Did they use salt also ?”

I said, “Of course not. They used toothpaste. But I was always been treated like an inferior being in my family, so I did not have the right to use the toothpaste. I could only use salt.”

José asked, “Were they limited financially ?”

I said, “No, they were not poor. They were never poor. But my mother didn’t want to spend an extra penny on me. “

José said, “Even toothpaste ?”

I nodded, “Even toothpaste.”

José didn’t say anything for a while.

Finally, he said, “Hmmmm, but from now on, you will not use salt because it could hurt the enamel of your teeth. You will still need your teeth to eat when you will get 90. “

I laughed, “You think I could live up to 90 ? And at that time, I would still have my teeth ?”

José said, “At least…  Well, I wish you will… Sure, if you take good care of them. Your teeth could live longer than you. You also need to brush your tongue, did you know that ?”

I laughed, “What ? How can I brush my tongue ? I will vomit.”

José said, “No need to brush that deep… Just the surface of your cute little pink tongue. You need to brush it once a day. You really have a lot to learn …”

Suddenly, he asked me a question, “Yuan, do you know why the human beings live longer than before ?”

I said, “Because of science, we have access to a lot of treatments and medicines.”

José said, “Yes, but the main reason for our longevity, first of all, is due to our hygiene. We are much more cleaner than before. So there are less infections and illnesses. “

“So floss your teeth well ; use your WaterPik ; and then brush them twice a day, 2-3 minutes each time. Give yourself enough time to do that entirely and thoroughly.”

“That way, you will always have your teeth with you until the end.”