Once, years ago, I had a painful ear-infection and went to an ear, nose and throat specialist. His office was one large room with chairs along the walls for waiting patients and a chair in the middle for the one being examined. Everyone in the room could watch and hear what was being said to the person in the chair. Though I knew he wasn't going to tell me that I had an STD or anything embarrassing, it was still uncomfortable being examined in front of an audience.

As a result of that and other similar experiences, I have resisted seeing health professionals except when my need was clear. But when you do need to go, how do you pick? In my case, I pay attention when people offer advice about their doctors. The other day, I overheard a conversation between three guys talking about their dentists. One had just tried a new one and wasn't impressed. The second remained loyal to his because of an attractive hygienist. The third, older guy offered up the following:

"I have been going to the same dentist for years. I hate him, he's terrible!"

"Then why do you go back?"

"It's never crowded so I don't have to wait in line..."

;-)

5. Teachers who use erroneous punctuation marks. I am currently in contact with a high school teacher concerning a program that she wants to implement at her school. Today, she sends an email (no lie) that contains the following sentence: "And, we really should consider contacting, any of your classmate's or people in the area, who might be interested."

Hey lady, proofread.

4. Dentists with bad breath. You can't tell me how to care for my teeth if your breath smells like a dirty bathroom. Hell no I don't want your toothpaste recommendation! Do you smell your breath?!?

3. Along those same lines, doctors with poor personal hygiene should be unemployed. I can't trust you to take care of my body if you don't wash your ass. It's really simple.

2. Vegetarians who cook meat.
"You guys should come over for dinner."
"What are you cooking?"
"I made chicken."
"......You don't eat meat..."
"It isn't meat."
"I'll pass..."

1. And the number one person who should not be employed: Whoever advised John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate. As a matter of fact, maybe Sarah Palin should be fired from her job as Vice Presidential hopeful. I have nothing to say about her personal life but professionally, she.is.not.qualified. And I will give you three good reasons:

a. She didn't even know the role of the VP a month ago.
b. She has only been governor of Alaska for a minute. She has little to no experience with national politics and I'm sure she has ZERO international experience. In fact, I read that she'd only been out of the USA once.
c. The last thing we need is another vice president that enjoys hunting.

Oh silly me - I've already paid the tax!  Bother!

I'm sure that I'll stumble from time to time until I get the rhythm that I'm looking for, so I'm hoping that everyone will be patient and understanding.  I also hope that I can share my information with you, without sounding like an advertisement. Yes, I will be talking about the businesses that are on NorthernNH.com as it is all about the living and doing business here in Northern New Hampshire.

Not every post will be about a businesses, I will also talk about the North Country, the happenings from town to town and share with you photos so you can also enjoy the beauty that we live with everyday.

Here in New Hampshire, otherwise know as the Granite State, the North Country, I started the directory NorthernNH.com for a number of reasons. Four years ago it was difficult to find a business or service in Northern New Hampshire.

We travel many miles in-between towns. Life has become so busy, time moving faster than ever, roads tough to travel in winter and somewhere in that time frame I was looking for an herbalist who supposedly lives in the town of Franconia, NH, it turns out that she had divorced and moved. I didn't have a clue. I spent so much time trying to find this herbalist.

I am a self-employed woman, running a cleaning service and all my customers were asking me, "where do I find a good plumber, a good dentist", who do you recommend as a trust worthy, dependable Realtor, etc.

That's when I decided to develop a directory for Northern New Hampshire. It's been a rough road as I was new to this type of business. I knew that I wanted to support the community and businesses (it's always been important to me to help others) and pull all of this together.

It was an interesting start as the competition was tough. I didn't realize how tough it could be, actually I didn't know that it existed. I have always been supportive of others in business and celebrated their successes. I thought others would be happy for me and just as supportive. I learned a difficult lesson and I'm actually, very grateful for the lesson, as I'm not the naive person that I once was.

Being new to doing a business on the internet I didn't understand how Google would have an effect on the directory.

A few years later, I'm still here with a much greater understanding about how this all works! I'm happy to say that NorthernNH.com comes up on Google, page one with the search for any and all businesses and services in Northern New Hampshire!

Although NorthernNH.com is a simple uncomplicated directory, it has a powerful database, the database runs smooth as silk, never a pause, hiccup or crash. Elegance in simplicity! Easy to navigate, 1,2,3 you're there! Alphabetical, by category, town, or business.

The database reflects my desire to be of service to the community and visitors by making their search as easy and pleasant as possible.

That's it for tonight! I made it through my first blog post and I feel great about it!

When I return I will give you a heads up on the businesses that are spotlighted on the directory and talk about life in Northern New Hampshire in general.

If you have pictures of New Hampshire that you would like to share, please send to: info@NorthernNH.com and I will be glad to put them in our photo gallery.  Don't forget to give a description of the photo and your name. I would like to give you credit for your photo!

At your leisure, check out our social network for New Hampshire: The Granite Matrix! Feel free to join us and become a member!

Wishing you blessings, health, joy and peace in your life!

Robin Anderson

NorthernNH.com

GraniteMatrix.com

I spent the rest of the day recovering at home with my friend Vicodin. lol By Thursday I had the beginning of a sinus infection. Friday I lost my voice completely..that's always fun. NOBODY TAKES you seriously when you squeak especially your kids. An hour before I had to pick my dh up from the airport I went into Prime Care and got a young baby face Dr. I explained to him what I felt my dx was because its a history thing with me. He was sure I had strep but I assured him it was pharyngitis (look it up)...he did a strep anways and the rapid came back negative. I told him not to make the mistake the last Dr. I saw there made and that is give me a weak antibiotic. The last time that happened I ended up in the ER with a mild concussion two days after I finished the round of med because I got dizzy and fell due to a massive sinus infection. He then said he was sending the strep out for a culture...fine whatever...but he was going to give me Omnicef which is more heavy duty than regular Amoxicillin. He was listening. lol He wanted to give me Flonase but I asked him if he knew whether it was safe for me to take considering my hypertension and aortic dilation. He quickly backed down, I don't think he really knew but he didn't want to take a chance since my aorta meaures 4.1 right now. lol

My silver lining this week: I dropped down to 216lbs Thursday because I was unable to eat.
What sucks: I have been taking Vicodin since Wednesday afternoon and I have gained 3lbs NOT from being able to eat but because of the constipation. So once I can go I should be down a few lbs hopefully. roflmao

LIFE!

Ooh, I just vomited a little.

So, they're not that bad. But I'm too young to be having old people teeth problems, you know? From the very first ages we're subliminally taught that if we have problems with our teeth then we're dirty or a bad person. I'm a bad person for having problems with my teeth.

I'll just admit right now that I didn't take care of my teeth in college. And I'll admit too that I drank my fair share of coke. And ate my fair share of chocolate. Late at night. A girl's gotta relieve stress right? Stress relief wreaked havoc on my teeth. Fortunately (aesthetically) for me (and for you) they're my back teeth.

I went to see the dentist recently. He basically told me I had big problems in my mouth. Some minor...and some not so minor work needs to be done soon. OK, this is not my fault...because this is America and you're not really American any more unless you lay the blame on something or someone other than yourself. Maybe I'll sue too since we're really good at that as well.

I'm pretty sure I saw a dentist in college. That was so long ago I can't remember, and have probably blocked the visits from my mind. Then came marriage and with it its own health care system. Those of you who know my husband's line of work (or have guessed it by now...I don't talk about it outright because we tend to be conspiracy theorists) know that the health care that comes with it is...um...socialist, really. So, I saw these dentists in Germany who wanted to win the prize for how many patients they could see and treat in an hour. I'm sure my guy won. Drive through fillings? He wrote the book.

Then came a small town dentist with small town equipment. Then came a dentist who made her money from doing unnecessary dental work. Then came a dentist with equipment from the 70s. Now we're here in Alabama, and can I just say I've never had a dentist as high tech as this guy? I'm loving it here, even if I'm saying that about a dentist. Even though he just told me he'd become very familiar with my mouth I'm willing to give him a shot. If he can promise me I'll be all fixed.

And that's just the issue. Once you have tooth problems they don't just get fixed and go away. Dentists are like chiropractors in that way. Once you see one you know you're going to need to go back again and again. Apparently fillings aren't meant to last forever. I never signed that disclosure form. So apparently these crappy fillings that were put in by the socialist dentist and then redone and redone by later dentists, and those unnecessary fillings by Miss Moneymaker have only weakened my teeth.

AND to cap everything off (pun intended) my socialist health care will only pay for silver fillings and gold crowns. Yes, gold crowns. I thought those were just a fad of previous decades. Homey, I gonna hab me sum gold in mah mouth.

Should I get the diamond studded ones?

I hate visiting the dentist, because my badness that I can usually hide is presented up close with really big pictures. Teeth were never meant to be seen that big.

I guess I didn't go easy on you with this post. But there you have it. My very unspectacular teeth. Go ahead, tell me that's gross. Will you come back?

**********************************************

If you actually made it this far I have a treat for you. Click on over to Jaci's blog, Ravings of a Mad Housewife, and check out my Cosmo inspired quiz. Take it and let me know how you did (I'm snickering).

The Asiatic were believed to create the prototypal actual toothbrush, or a figure that was utilised to decent teeth, but it was much assorted than the ones that we are utilised to today. These prototypal toothbrushes, crafted in the 1400s, did not ingest touchable for bristles, or impressible for the handles. They were crafted from bamboo, digit of the most ordinary plants from that area. The bamboo bacilliform the appendage for grouping to stop on to. Attached to this appendage was a ordered of bristles, which were crafted from the thickened touchable of the Russian disorderly boar. The hairs utilised came from the backwards of the cervix of this animal. This is the moustache related with having been the antecedent of the digit that we ingest today.

However, there is grounds that there was additional modify of the moustache dating up to 3000 eld before the relationship of Christ. Due to this, the story of the moustache proves that this figure is digit of the oldest ease utilised by man, exclusive genuinely noncurrent by the wheel. This modify of the moustache was institute within pyramids of the Egyptians. These toothbrushes were crafted from a stick. Unlike the Asiatic edition of the toothbrush, the modify of the follow was flayed so that the fibers of the vegetation were more soft. This follow was then rubbed against the ordered to support as a modify of test hygiene. This modify of the moustache did not embellish farther distribute as the Asiatic version.

The Asiatic edition of the moustache distribute to Europe, where the Russian disorderly swine took the brunt of the ontogeny popularity of the invention. The exclusive downside to the hairs of the Russian disorderly swine was the fact that it was rattling wrinkled on the gums. On statement of this, whatever grouping began to ingest the hairs institute on the backs of horses to foxiness the bristles on their brushes, as this was much easier on their gums and teeth. Despite the additional softness of the equid touchable bristles, the swine hairs were more commonly used, as horses were likewise priceless to Europeans during this punctuation of time.

The swine touchable moustache continuing to be utilised until the primeval 1900s. In 1937, touchable was created in the Du Pont laboratories by insurrectionist H. Carothers. This conception forever denaturized the story of the toothbrush, as substantially as every another figure that required a tough material, including ropes. In 1938, Nylon became the clew of modernization, from the creation of touchable stockings to Dr. West's prototypal touchable toothbrush. This applier was titled Dr. West's Miracle Toothbrush. Even with this insight in the toothbrush, it wasn't until World War II that Americans began to verify test medicine more seriously. This was a candid termination of the war. This impact spurred on the utilization of meliorate toothbrushes.

Toothpaste & Whiteners

Another characteristic of moustache story that should be condemned into statement is toothpaste and another whiteners. These are commonly utilised with the moustache in visit to attain destined that the ordered and respite were acceptable. The construct of toothpaste and representative washes is pretty older - nearly as older as the Egyptians toothbrush. The primeval famous toothpaste was created by the Egyptians. It was said to include a drachma of sway salt, digit drachmas of mint, digit drachma of preserved stop flowers and 20 grains of pepper. This was then low and integrated unitedly to modify a powder. When integrated with secretion and practical to the teeth, it would support discolour and decent your teeth. When experimented with by an inhabitant dentist, the difference worked farther meliorate than anything added created until the note prototypal century. The exclusive downside was the fact that it caused his gums to bleed.

In the 18th Century, the incoming transcribed edition of toothpaste occurred. This difference titled for dragon's blood, bark and defect alum. This difference tends to be more of an recreation for some scientists, as there is no grounds that "dragon's" existed. What haw hit rattling been thoughtful to be dragon's murder is unknown.

The 19th Century saw a aggregation of innovations to toothpaste, though some of them would be ugly compared to what we are utilised to today. Charcoal, for example, was utilised to decent teeth. Most of the toothpastes of this instance were powders that became a adhesive when introduced to saliva. A aggregation of these assorted toothpastes were fashioned to both decent ordered and provide the individual meliorate breath. This is where the recent intent for toothpaste came of, and digit of the invoke points in the story of toothpaste. The compounding of these pastes and the moustache worked to secure that there was a higher quantity of preparation and better ordered and gums.

It wasn't until the 1900s that toothpastes evolved to be more modern. Colgate, and some another toothpaste companies, worked to organisation toothpastes that tasted beatific patch providing the effectuation to decent ordered patch not feat gums to bleed. Many ingredients are today utilised in toothpastes, with Fluoride existence digit of the most common. There are a panoramic difference of "herbal" toothpastes as well, which do not include this component. Each of these types are fashioned to sound the needs and wants of every identify of mortal discover there. This broad take of pick is the direct phylogenesis of toothpastes. While exclusive a some were acquirable as primeval as the Afrasian days, today there is something for everyone.

The compounding of the toothpaste and recent moustache gives everyone the test medicine and dental upbeat that they requirement to be healthy to hit the effervescent ordered that is desirable by so many. This compounding also helps preclude the expiration of your ordered after in life, so that dentures are not required as early. The story of the moustache and toothpaste shouldn't be looked downbound upon, as the options utilised backwards then were no where nearby as gratifying as the types acquirable today.

About The Author

Rebecca Blain is a professed and hobbyist illustrator who enjoys attractive tending of her seek and educating grouping most test upbeat tending much as Crest Whitestrips, which you crapper feature most here:

http://www.everything-teeth.com/whitestrips-review.html

I go in for a consultation with the oral surgeon and when he sees the x-rays immediately recongnizes it is not a root, but an entire tooth fragment. "No big deal," he says, "we'll just go in there and get it out." So I schedule the appointment.

I went in today expecting the ordeal to last less than ten minutes, because it took them a total of 20 minutes to remove all wisdom teeth and stitch me up. This is also the reason I refused general anesthesia. Going under for a 5 minute procedure? Not this girl.

I wasn't really worried until the Doctor started to sweat. And I don't just mean that he looked misty, I'm talking he started to drip. I was afraid some was going to get on me and I was going to flip the hell out on him. Thankfully, he kept it to his scrubs and the insides of his eye glasses. There were times when he literally was pushing his weight onto this freaking piece of tooth that had started to become hidden because bone was starting to grow over it. Nice one, Doctor. 

After literally 30 straight minutes of pushing and pulling and drilling and twisting, the damn thing came loose. I've never been so happy to see a stitching needle. 

All that to say they told me that even though it was a fragment, they had basically done a full extraction, and to treat it as such. Hence I am now loaded up with giant tylenol and mashed potatoes, just like after my first pull. Needless to say, Nicole will have to drive me to Glendora at 5 am tomorrow for my internship orientation. Yay.

Modern dentistry is a crock.

The PCT must now tell us what alternatives they are offering instead, particularly as kids in Wirral have above-average levels of dental decay.

The current cap is a buildup of vinyl bonding material held in place by a small pin.  The reason the original dentist didn't use a porcelain cap was because I was 10.  I'd have had to have a new one every year or so, and 1.) we was poor and 2.) I ain't letting anyone stick a drill in my mouth every year on the same date.  I probably should have had it redone after high school, but, well...  There you go.

So before we can replace this long-neglected front tooth, I needed a root canal.  To do that, they had to drill from behind the tooth to get at all the dead gunk inside it.  Originally, this was proposed to me in 1993.  Why didn't I do it then?

Well, my dentist back then was this guy in Fairfax.  He had a nice office, lots of expensive laser equipment, and a pretty receptionist whose chest still had that new breast smell.  I went to this guy to get a quick extraction.  After the extraction, he wanted a follow up.  I went.  He sat me down, looked me straight in the eye and said, "I'm going to be frank with you.  There's a lot of damage to your mouth.  It's serious.  What I need for you to do is to forgo buying a home, drive a beater for a while, and take out a $7000 loan so we can get started immediately."

I got up, walked out without a word.  Outside, I noticed not one, not two, but three Porsches parked in front of his building.  Now, I'm not saying anything happened, but one of those Porsches had a nasty scratch down the side when I left that day.

Appropo of nothing, I used to be rather clumsy with my car keys.

I'm just saying those two facts coincided.  Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along.  Move along.

My current dentist I've been seeing for about three years now.  Good guy, my dentist is.  How good?  I fell asleep during my root canal.

Yeah.  Bet that's the last time you hear someone say that when gas isn't used.

Here's the strange thing.  That $7000 figure?  That's in 1993 dollars.  My dentist's estimate before insurance kicks in?

Less than $4000 for a partial, three extractions (one a bone fragment), a new cap, pulling my wisdom teeth, and redoing my fillings.

In 2008 dollars.

Oh, and Fairfax PD?  I was...  um...  with my wife, Morgan Fairchild, when that Porsche got keyed last night.  I was nowhere near that dentist in your fair town.

Maybe if your doc didn't force patients to take out home equity loans to pay for his cars...   Mine doesn't.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

Whenever you go to the dentist they take out the nicely packaged tools that tell you they are clean. Then the dentist and his assistant (who is always a female it seems) will take out some nice new gloves to protect their hands. Then they will start to do their thing with your teeth.

They will pry open your mouth with their fingers and drill your teeth until your gums bleed. Then they will wipe the saliva and blood off with their fingers. Then, the thing I don't understand, they will reach up and adjust the light with their hands that are covered in your saliva.

Do they through all the hygiene precautions and then leave this pothole? Some dentists pit some plastic wrap around the handles which I assume they change for every patient. But what about the dentists without the cover? Do they just put that saliva onto the handles and then transfer it onto the next patient?

How do the dentists keep the light handles clean between each patient without plastic coverings?

(I had to rewrite half this post since it didn't save the first time for some reason. Not happy)

The view where I wait for my train home everyday.

It's looking very attractive, but the navigation is not straightforward yet - we're steering our way between those two whirlpools in the Med again, not that we're Jason and the Argonauts - far from it.

We reckon by the time the weekend is over, we may well have steered our way using our defective rudder towards a land where we have to pull dragons' teeth. We will then be able to award ourselves a dental certificate - by appointment to dragons.

Meanwhile the "About Us" page has arisen out of the blue on the Examiner's page. All details are there. Well, some of all the details are there, anyroadmap. θ

Today was meant to be a good day, I was meant to be getting my implant into the giant gaping chasm in my jaw where some months ago a tooth used to reside until a dodgy dentist didn't seal a filling correctly and I lost the tooth. I received a phone call this morning from the dentist's pretty young assistant reminding me of my appointment this evening, but it is hard to forget when - you know - I've got this giant bloody hole in my head!

I really was in a good mood for most of the day and funnily enough I was looking forward to seeing this dentist - who coincidentally isn't my normal dentist, I've not seen my normal dentist for a while so I haven't been able to gush over how much I look forward to seeing her. Anyway I turn up this afternoon after fighting my way through peak hour to get to the surgery only to be informed that they have lost the approval to do the work from my insurance company.

So I am still Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel and now I have been told that I may have to resubmit approval to the insurance company if they can't find the paper work. I wanted to rant and rave at the dentist, instead I accepted the fact that no work could be done without approval and really getting angry at the guy wasn't going to get the tooth put in any quicker. I did try a new tact for once and that being one of reason explaining that the stump to hold the tooth is already in place so approval must have been granted already for that - the dentist actually got angry at me stating in no uncertain terms that without paper work no work could be done. In hindsight.. I should have used some of those pokey prongy sharp things on him.. and I used to be so nice once upon a time.

I give up... at least you can't see the massive hole in my head and perhaps one day in the future I can drag out dear old Wellington again and finally have some normalcy restored.

I did think it was two weeks ago that it was happening but nope it was only the socket that was literally being hammered into my head so I have still been running about feeling very much like Cletus the slack jawed yokel. I should ask if I can get the poison gas implant as an optional extra - it could come in very handy. The odd thing however is that now I have gotten used to chewing things on the left side of my mouth and I wonder if it will feel strange to chew on the right the side again - then again maybe I just think too much.

In other news I've had 100 visitors to the blog now which of course deserves a mention and a prize for our lucky reader. Looking through the lost property box of the blog you have a choice of:

• 3 odd socks
• a bus ticket
• a 'used' copy of Playboy circa May 1972

Seriously though I'm very chuffed to get that many visitors to my little corner of the internerd - it's not a huge number I know but it pleases me none the less.

Cut to dentist 2. I see him today, and he asks me questions and listens! I explain everything dentist #1 said, what I wanted and he said, "We can work with you on this." I'll be getting my teeth pulled in October, by an oral while knocked out-which D2 suggested-and the total for a lower AFTER insurance is 650 bucks. He had samples and photos of the work he's done and it's excellent. The extractions will cost about 1800 bucks roughly-a big difference from the 25K from D1.

By listening to my concerns, showing me his work, and answering all of my questions, D2 is someone I'll be recommending to anyone who needs a dentist.

The nitwits can take a lesson from this.