3 Wellness Tools, 2 Will Stay in Their Boxes

When a child, my parents bought a waffle iron. We made waffles one time, put our new gadget back in its box and stored it on a shelf where it may still be to this day. We never made waffles again because it was extra trouble over pancakes or French toast that only requires a frying pan. The frying pan was much easier to wash and dry.

IMHO, the same hesitation will happen with 2 of the 3 wellness gadgets, and I’d think twice before buying them. It has nothing at all to do with the quality or functions of the wellness tools and everything to do with the innate laziness of human beings in not wanting to bother with certain aspects of using them. All 3 are appealing wellness gadgets, but it doesn’t mean customers will continue to use them after the novelty of owning them wears off.

Let’s go from negative to positive. The 2 devices that, IMHO, consumers will stop reaching for are: 

1) The Venom Go Heat and Vibration Massage Pad (top image👆) - The reason: It’s small and must be repositioned multiple times to get a comprehensive massage. It’s like a spot massager, and there are cheaper spot massagers already on the market, which humans will also stop using. Never underestimate our laziness! Better to get a heat/vibrator that is a full-body massager (for equal or less money because they’ve been on the market longer), that you place over a chair to massage your sore back and shoulders; or a foot/leg massager that you insert your feet into to massage your aching feet and legs at once. You don’t need to reposition either one to massage your entire body part.

2) Nanoleaf Lymphatic Body Sculpting Massager - The device uses massage and ultra red light to smooth skin and reduce puffiness, cellulite, tone the body, and improve skin texture. I have watched many YouTube demonstrations showing before and after the use of similar gadgets (some devices also treat fine lines), and the truth is, the difference is minimal. You must use them daily to get any results, and yet nobody ever looks much younger, less fatigued, or truly any better. It’s a lot of time and work -- that I’d need at least 10 years to be permanently removed from my skin -- in exchange for the motivation to use it daily! Wouldn't you? Reposition, reposition, reposition ... arghhh! Help, let me out of my bathroom or off my coach!!😱😱😱

IMHO, the gizmo consumers will faithfully use is the Autobrush Sonic Pro - Dentists tend to recommend using sonic toothbrushes to thoroughly clean your teeth without damaging your enamel. Usually, the job requires 2 minutes of time, positioning a standard sonic toothbrush in each quadrant of your mouth to go over your teeth for 30 seconds. The Autobrush Sonic Pro reduces those 2 minutes down to 30 seconds since it fits over our teeth to clean them all at once. It’s more than double the price of a standard 2-minute sonic toothbrush, but at $89.00 still affordable. Perhaps it’s worth paying the difference to get seniors or kids to thoroughly brush their teeth?

So that’s what I think. What do you think?

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5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy

Call me vain regarding my teeth, since I'll do whatever it takes to maintain them in good shape. Preventative care is always less costly and better for our teeth, then having to fix neglect. What's more, I thought I was doing everything right to care for them, but I was wrong! I learned new better practises last week during my annual dental cleaning and checkup.

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth and Gums Healthy

are:

👄1) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast.

👄2) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes before bedtime.

👄3) Foss your teeth for 1 minute before one of the brushings - 

So here's a surprise! The flossers (i.e. dental floss on a pick) I use are not as thorough as using dental floss on a spool that we must break off and twirl around our fingers, says my dental hygienist. The loose floss gets in between teeth better than the up and down motion of dental floss on a pick. I won't lie, I'm sorry to hear this as the floss on a pick is easy to use! C'est la vie. 

👄4) Rinse with mouthwash for 30 seconds twice a day -

This I do, but was told that alcohol free mouthwash is better than an alcohol based mouthwash because the alcohol kills nearly all the bacteria in your mouth, both good and bad, which can lead to an imbalance unless you rinse every single day, which I do!  Also: " ... studies by BioMed Research International suggest alcohol free mouthwashes have a better effect on the gloss, colour, hardness and wear of tooth composite restorations compared to mouthwashes that contain alcohol." Most of us have composites by the time we're in our 30s, as our gums wear away from our teeth. The expression "long of the tooth"originates from the reality that as gums recede with age, teeth appear longer.

My dentist likes Colgate Total 12 Hour Pro-Shield Antibacterial rinse or Listerine (which is also an antibacterial rinse).

👄5) A sonic toothbrush is "highly recommended" over hand brushing. 

My dental office likes the Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush - A basic, not an expensive model gets the job done. No need to buy all the bells and whistles, unless you wish to do so.

This last one I didn't expect. The dental hygienist was able to tell me which of my hands is dominant by looking at my gums. How so? I brush my teeth harder on the side that corresponds to my dominant hand! As it turns out, I brush my teeth too hard in general, which wears away gums. My new Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush should help me break this bad habit.

Another benefit of (only) sonic toothbrushes: They make 30,000 - 40,000 brush strokes per minute, compared with about 300 per minute if you brush by hand; the bristles rotate back and forth (the dental preferred way); and they remove plaque better by directing liquid and toothpaste between your teeth and below the gum line. So after returning home I ordered one.

Switching to a sonic toothbrush takes an adjustment. My first use tickled. The first day, it took me not 2 minutes to brush my teeth, but 6 minutes (i.e., 3 passes to get to all the teeth!), but soon I learned to cover all my teeth (including the backsides) in the 2 minutes the toothbrush runs before automatically shutting off. Beeps tell you to move through the teeth. Now I'm working on not spraying toothpaste on my bathroom mirror so I won't have to wipe it clean after a brush. Practice, practice, practice!

As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks! New habits, better tools, cleaner teeth!

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