Dentistry and Cancer

Today I went in to see my Dentist, Dr. Tim. He is a wonderful man, and he is an excellent Dentist. This man helped me to save my teeth, which I thought was a hopeless cause just a few years ago.
*****
Cancer patients must pay attention to their teeth. A smoker, such as myself, causes a lot of damage to the gum line (shrinkage) and forecloses on the possibility of implants (infections). Smoking is a very dumb habit. We all know that; still we smoke cigarettes in this country and succeed in killing ourselves at an alarming rate.
*****
I have lung Cancer, one of the deadliest Cancers out there. Radiation therapy has ruined my ability to produce saliva, which is the body's natural defense against cavities. I have to use a very expensive prescription toothe paste to compensate for this. I have thrown away the old $5 toothebrush and have gone through two of the more expensive electronic ones. These do an excellent job in promoting healthy gums. I would recommend this to anyone out there fighting Cancer. I would also recommend this idea to anyone else. Save your teeth.
*****
I grew up in a poor household. My parents did what they could for me, and they did their best by me, mark my words. People around us had less than we did. I was fortunate in that respect. We were never on welfare, since my parents always worked for just over minimum wage in the area where I grew up. A lot of my friends with big families were on welfare. I remember being around all these kids, and I had a lot of fun with them. We would eat Government Cheese, and go pick apples at the orchards back in Michigan. I owe these kids everything.
*****
My teeth are a problem for me now, because I was too lazy too brush them as a child. My parents did spring for trips to the dentist, to repair all the damage I had caused by my own neglect. They found some cheap dentist in Petoskey to do all the work, and he used no novacaine, because that was an extra charge that no one could afford. He would drill into nerves and you would just have to endure the agony of it. Sometimes these sessions would run a couple of hours. Two hours of the smell of burnt teeth, and horrible torture to a young boy. This experience traumatized me for the rest of my life. It ruined me.
*****
Afterwords, the dentist would reward me for being such a brave little boy. He would always give me a sucker.
*****
I got older. My teeth were a shambles. I came to terms with what I had to do. I was tired of eating soft foods all the time. I had plenty of money, and a lot of fear. I picked Dr. Tim out of the phone book (sychronicity at work, again). We were on a mission to save my teeth.
*****
My Mother grew up in an entirely different age. She thought that spending all of this money was a complete waste of time. She told me to just get them all pulled, and to get dentures. I am glad now that I did not follow this advice.
*****
Because of their delicate condition, I am required to see Dr. Tim every three months. Since I have become retired, I have to carefully watch the budget. I cannot afford to do everything at once. My main focus is to fight Cancer, and that expensive endeavor has used up a lot of my resources. This time I went for nine months without seeing Dr. Tim, and took a big risk in doing that. We begin the tedious process of repairing the damage in August.
****
Dr. Tim and his staff have been very kind to me. Today Dr. Tim took time out of his day to read my previous blog comparing the health care systems of the United States versus Nationalized health care in England and in Canada. In that piece I was not very kind to the English.
*****
Dr. Tim is one of the few Englishmen that I know. He once worked for the Royal Postal Service before moving here to become a dentist. He read my little blog, and then he turned to me and he said that I had summed it up pretty well. I was absolutely thrilled to hear this from someone I so greatly respect and admire.

Mr. Charming