Dental Hygiene in the Animal Kingdom

Recently in a Zurich, Switzerland zoo, a zebra laughed in the face of death as it spent 15 minutes cleaning the teeth of a hungry hungry hippo.


FYI, the hippo is the third largest animal in the world, can open it's giant mouth 150 degrees, and has enough bite strength to snap a small boat in half - think about THAT next time a little kid bites your finger!

In my office, we recently began using the Zooby Prophy Angles made by Denticator. One of the animals kids can choose from is a Zebra, which is why this story made me laugh. Who knew, Zebra's really are skilled dental hygienists! Full story from the telegraph.

In related news, an Alaskan dentist (of the human variety) recently got a bald eagle back in the high life by repairing a damaged beak using temporary crown material and a yellow highlighter. This guy is like MacGyver, Steve Irwin, and, uh, a dentist all rolled into one bird-saving hero! Read about it in timesonline.

Jessica Simpson's Oral Hygiene

Last week Jessica Simpson admitted that she doesn't brush her teeth. Instead, she occasionally opts to use Listerine and a sweater in her oral hygiene regimen. That's right, Listerine......... and a sweater.

Watch the full, painful interview clip here:



Those of you who watched her reality TV show "The Newlyweds" could have guessed that her teeth were being neglected. I dug up this recap of episode two, in which she is referred to the endodontist for root canal therapy. From this episode we learn:

• She never flosses, and even states that she hates it "with a passion". (really?)
  
• She hates the dentist. She didn't mention whether or not she hates ninjas, so maybe I'm still ok.
  
• She was told she had three cavities, which she then let progress to the point of needing at least one root canal.

With last week's lunch still stuck between her chompers, Jessica exemplifies my definition of "Ninjavitis" perfectly - deceptively bad breath that sneaks up on you like a ninja when you least expect it.

The Nightmare Patient

In dentistry, as in any business, people will feel from time to time that they are being over-charged. Such was the case with UK resident Peter McShane who complained, was reimbursed for his expenses, but then for some reason decided that wasn't enough and took it upon himself to sabotage the dental practice.

His methods included injecting the door locks with super-glue and stealing plaques off of the wall. (FYI - that's not the plaque removal we want you to focus on, Peter.) To top it off he left a fake bomb in front of the doorway one morning. The device consisted of a brick, some wires and a ticking alarm clock in a large box.

The thing that makes this story so remarkable is that THE DUDE WAS 84 YEARS OLD! Closed-circuit security camera footage (which I would love to see) showed him dragging the box across the parking lot and taking a break halfway there. The news story says he took the breather because the box was so heavy, but I have another theory - he was 84!

Read the full story from the Telegraph.

Smoking Can Cause Tooth Loss

And in this case, it can cause instantaneous tooth loss. Six to be exact. Because the cigarette EXPLODED!

Although the Indonesian tobacco company apologized and compensated the victim the equivalent of $535 (that should cover six implants, right?), I personally think this is a great idea. Most smokers are aware that the habit has severe negative impacts on their health - why put it off? If one out of every 100 cigarettes randomly exploded at some point, people might reconsider lighting up.

Full story from the BBC News.

Ninja Sword saves the day!

Or, how about, not really? This news story started out as a brave teenager who defended his dog from the vicious and brutal attack of a mountain lion using a ninja sword! What a hero!

When the local fish & game officer investigated he discovered the story to be absolutely true - that is, if you replace "mountain lion" with "raccoon". The dog in question? 1/2 German Shepherd, 1/2 Pitt Bull - a beast that no doubt needed the help of a sword-wielding teenager to protect it from the much smaller raccoon.

Full story from KGO-TV in San Francisco.

Here's another theory - the boy was telling the truth all along, but out of fear that the true power of a ninja sword would come to light, a band of REAL ninjas swept in after the incident and replaced all the cougar tracks with raccoon tracks!