Post: #1

This is Day 17 of Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

Hello all, welcome to Day 17 of 21DHL! Yesterday Andreea shared a beautiful gift with all of us doing the 21DHL challenge. If you haven't checked it out, here it is:



She wrote it while walking on the hills with her dad and dog (correct me if I'm wrong Andreea!). That's really sweet Andreea also drew us the lovely 30DLBL sign during the Dec '10 30DLBL Challenge. Thanks so much Andreea!!

Day 17 - Floss Your Teeth



Do any of you floss your teeth? I do - but I didn't used to do this in the past. According to a 2008 survey, only 49% of Americans floss daily, and 10% never floss.That’s unfortunate because flossing is as important as brushing in preventing gum disease and tooth loss. When I was younger I thought flossing is an unnecessary step in dental care. It was when I got braces (when I was in my early 20s) that I was more conscious about dental hygiene - and I realized that flossing is a very important step in properly cleaning your teeth.

From WebMD:

Quote:"There is no instant gratification with flossing -- that's the problem," says Alla Wheeler, RDH, MPA, associate professor of the Dental Hygiene Program at the New York University School of Dentistry. "Patients don't think it does anything."

But flossing does about 40% of the work required to remove sticky bacteria, or plaque, from your teeth. Plaque generates acid, which can cause cavities, irritate the gums, and lead to gum disease. "Each tooth has five surfaces. If you don't floss, you are leaving at least two of the surfaces unclean,"Wheeler explains. "Floss is the only thing that can really get into that space between the teeth and remove bacteria."

If you experience bleeding during flossing, that's an even clearer sign that you need to floss. The bleeding occurs because plaque has already built up in the area and would have continued to corrode your gums if you didn't floss right there and then!

Today, let's practice our best dental hygiene. Brush your teeth before you sleep/after you wake up. Rinse your mouth/brush your teeth in between your meals. For those of you who already floss, continue doing so! For those of you who don't floss your teeth normally, let's try flossing today!

Here's a short 1:54 minute video on how to floss your teeth properly:




Day 17 of Your 21-Day Action Plan

What are your 21DHL tasks listed for today? Do them with excellence and report them in your 21DHL Journal! Also, read your group mates' 21DHL journals and cheer them along! Pick a few members' journals and make it a point to post meaningful replies there.

Share Your Progress!
Do you normally floss your teeth? How's your flossing experience? Share with everyone!

Image © Shutterstock

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #2

Flossing is one of those things that you don't miss if you have never done it or don't have the habit of doing it, but you don't want to miss it once you have established the habit of doing it. Like Celes, I didn't used to do it. But now I do it every night after brushing. It has really helped improve the health of my teeth.

Qin Tang
Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Post: #3

Hi!! Celes

I have never flossed my teeth..vaguely heard from people around me but never tried...I'll surely try and tell you..

Post: #4

I'm a flosser! I always remember the humorous comment my dentist made when I asked him which teeth I should floss:

You only need to floss the teeth you want to keep !

I have been flossing my teeth daily for the past sveral years. Sometimes I skip a day but it is now almost a daily habit.

I also use Listerine mouth wash after flossing.

And now I would like to share with you the name of a dental practice in Sydney. Top Gum! (No they don't have Tom Cruise as their model) but do look at their web site.

Charles

Post: #5

ok...I"M flossing now and it's going to become a routine

Post: #6

Geez...this is an easy task as I am doing it daily. Like what Qin Tang said, once you started doing it, you won't stop as you will feel strange and somehow the teeth don't seem clean without flossing.

Post: #7

Oh men, I never floss...that´s a shame so I´ll be starting TODAY yeah!!!!!

Hey read a funny stroy about Listerine in this book called "Freakonomics" adn it says that this product was invented innitially for heart desises, then they try it out for gonorrea ´cause It didn´t worked out in that market, then as a kitchen florr washer and finnaly in the 50´s when everybody smoke cigarrets was launch as a dental washer....I don´t know if is true, but that book gives you the details and sources of research.

Go figure eh!

Post: #8

LOL it would appear you are right!

From Wikipedia:

Quote:According to Freakonomics:
“ Listerine was invented in the 19th century as powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in a very distilled form, as both a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it was not a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution to "chronic halitosis", the faux medical term that the Listerine advertising group created in 1921 to describe bad breath. By creating a "medical condition" for which consumers now felt they needed a cure, Listerine created the market for their mouthwash. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered a catastrophe, but Listerine's ad campaign changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

Now that's quite funny! The power of marketing

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #9

Heh! This is actually one of the items included in my Evening Ritual for this Challnge. I floss and brush my teeth with baking soda, a whitening agent.

I used to floss about once a week, and then I asked my sisters how often they flossed and they both said every day. One of them made the compelling argument, “You’ve GOT to get the food particles out!”

So of course, now I floss every evening.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

~The Summer Day, Mary Oliver

Post: #10

I floss my teeth after brushing. My dentist is very content with outcome.
I even brush my tongue. It gives a good taste and it looks better than a white tongue ;-)

Post: #11

I love this! I think I was the only kid who loved going to the dentist.

Post: #12

It's funny there is just no way of predicting what task topics will be popular and which won't. Meditation and exploring our relationships, which I think could give each of us powerful insights, only get a few posts. But when we have a simple task like flossing then everybody has an opinion and wants to share

Post: #13

I know it's a good practice, but I really don't like flossing
I've found small interdental brushes which server a similar function though

Post: #14

(01-18-2011 11:45 PM)Matt Wrote:  It's funny there is just no way of predicting what task topics will be popular and which won't. Meditation and exploring our relationships, which I think could give each of us powerful insights, only get a few posts. But when we have a simple task like flossing then everybody has an opinion and wants to share

From my experience, usually if a task seems too heavy or deep people might feel intimidated by it. They may try but not get the supposed results they think they should get, so they feel resistant to it in the process. Some may feel bad or ashamed because in their heart they really want to do their best and have the best results to share/show. And that's totally okay too - the most important thing is we take the first step and the seed has been planted. It's a matter of time before that seed will germinate, grow and bloom - slowly and surely

Another thing I noticed is that many participants are actually diligently following every day's task (which is fantastic - keep it up guys!) and posting the results in their journals vs. in the day's task. That works too so continue what all of you are doing

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Post: #15

(01-18-2011 11:45 PM)Matt Wrote:  It's funny there is just no way of predicting what task topics will be popular and which won't. Meditation and exploring our relationships, which I think could give each of us powerful insights, only get a few posts. But when we have a simple task like flossing then everybody has an opinion and wants to share

I really want to establish the meditation habit and the seed is well and truly planted - but I just haven't got the habit established. First I need to practice the meditations I got from the book I borrowed, then make them part of my daily routine.

I have discovered some guided meditations which interest me from a book called Music for Inner Space by Neville Drury. My first priority is to the other book. I will post some meditations to this forum.

Charles

Post: #16

ozcaveman Wrote:I really want to establish the meditation habit and the seed is well and truly planted - but I just haven't got the habit established. First I need to practice the meditations I got from the book I borrowed, then make them part of my daily routine.

I have discovered some guided meditations which interest me from a book called Music for Inner Space by Neville Drury. My first priority is to the other book. I will post some meditations to this forum.

Charles

I haven't made meditation a daily habit yet either, Charles. Lately I have only been meditating 2 or 3 times a week. I think I could get many more of the benefits by doing it everyday consistently.

Please do share some of what you have read in those books. I honestly haven't read any information about meditation except for the articles in the blog.

Post: #17

We live in a crazy world , don´t we??
Just reading this I remember onde uf Budda´s powerful thoughts:

"distrusts all and you´ll find your own light" It was written in a more poetic way, but you get the point =)

(01-18-2011 04:08 AM)Celes Wrote:  LOL it would appear you are right!

From Wikipedia:

Quote:According to Freakonomics:
“ Listerine was invented in the 19th century as powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in a very distilled form, as both a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it was not a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution to "chronic halitosis", the faux medical term that the Listerine advertising group created in 1921 to describe bad breath. By creating a "medical condition" for which consumers now felt they needed a cure, Listerine created the market for their mouthwash. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered a catastrophe, but Listerine's ad campaign changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

Now that's quite funny! The power of marketing

Post: #18

(01-20-2011 12:31 AM)Matt Wrote:  I haven't made meditation a daily habit yet either, Charles. Lately I have only been meditating 2 or 3 times a week. I think I could get many more of the benefits by doing it everyday consistently.

Please do share some of what you have read in those books. I honestly haven't read any information about meditation except for the articles in the blog.

I practiced the breath meditation on the train this morning. It only took about 3 minutes and I felt quite relaxed and centred after doing it!
The goal of meditation is to calm the mind and body and the breathing meditation certainly did that!

Charles
Thursday 8.20am Sydney