My teeth have been bothering me for a few days, and chewing hard food was starting to become uncomfortable. Having recently gone to the dentist about 3 weeks ago to have an old silver filling replaced as well as two bondings for my teeth where my gums are receding, I thought that perhaps something was stirred up in my mouth, and began anticipating a larger round of dental work.

Before I scheduled the appointment, I decided to floss. With some popcorn coming out from a movie I saw a week earlier, as well as the discomfort from not having flossed since the dental work itself, my teeth no longer hurt. As it turns out, it was the stuck popcorn itself that was causing the discomfort, with the pain signaling to my body that it had to be addressed. Rather than look for the simple solution, I was ready to have major work done.

I wonder how often I (we?) fail to notice signs and keep plugging away at other solutions that have little to nothing to do with the cause? The dentist would have found the problem, but the cost and time and efforts would have far surpassed the little it really took me to resolve the issue myself. There seems some lessons here beyond the value of periodic flossing . . .

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