Older teeth

A few weeks ago I was given a stern talking to by a young dental hygienist about the state of my gums, to which I had paid little attention for the preceding half century or more, despite periodic dental admonishment.

She asked about my dental hygiene habits and when I suggested that I brushed my teeth twice a day for a minute or two, she counter suggested that I should brush my teeth twice a day for at least three minutes.

For some reason, on this occasion I have taken the stern talking to to heart and I thought that the way ahead was an egg timer, the standard egg time being three minutes. Much more convenient than some sort of clockwork or electrical timer. I was also mindful of a memory of my father explaining that he scrubbed up before (as it happens, dental) operations by the clock. Doing it by the clock was the only way to be sure that one's hands were clean.

Next step, source an egg timer. BH did not think that I was going to be able to buy one new, at least not in Epsom where we no longer have one of those fancy kitchen equipment shops, with Lakeland, despite its many virtues, not qualifiying. So trawl the charity shops it was, with success in the fourth, an Oxfam shop, where I was able to buy the timer illustrated for £2.

Timing it against a clock, the sands of time (not sure what the sands in question actually are) ran out in 3 minutes and 10 seconds. I only did the one trial and I did not bother to check that they ran the same in both directions, trusting the manufacturers to have done that.

So I now brush my teeth to the sounds of the egg timer. Furthermore, it seems likely that I was not brushing my teeth for a minute in the past, never mind the one or two I had claimed when challenged by the hygienist. As it happens, she asked to see me in three months rather than the usual six, so we will see what she has to say in August. And in the meantime, my mouth does feel a lot cleaner than it did.