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He Brushes His Teeth For The Second Time That Day By Tim Boisvert He generally doesn't brush his teeth more than once a day. He has had few cavities in his life, and his teeth have received compliments from the dentist nearly every time he has seen him over the past few years. He is not afraid of gingivitis -- when he looks in the mirror he doesn't stare at his teeth, he doesn't wonder if he's doing enough -- so he doesn't feel the need to brush more than once a day. Years earlier, on business in Lausanne, he had been told that the water coming out of the mountains there was so pure and clean that many local residents didn't brush at all, that they would only rinse their mouths with locally-bottled water in the morning and the evening. Looking back, he has wondered if the water here has benefited his mouth. He brushes every morning and his teeth are always clean. The mountains here must make good water, too, he often thinks to himself. That day, though, after lunch, he is sitting in his home office sorting through documents and ledgers, working on the benefits file. He rubs his tongue against his teeth and gums and there is a small pain in front. He walks to the bathroom and puts his mouth close to the mirror, looking for blemishes, redness, visible anxiety, but sees nothing. He touches his gums with his index finger, pushing gently, gauging the slight feeling of discomfort he continues to feel. This is strange, he thinks. He does not want to continue to feel this pain, this bitter, tiny feeling that keeps him from doing his work. He is not prepared for a new permanence in his mouth. And so, unsure of the source of the problem, he opens the medicine cabinet, takes his brush and the tube of toothpaste, and brushes his teeth for the second time that day. He will continue to brush twice daily throughout the rest of his life, he understands, or at least until he decides to start brushing three times a day. Back to Tim's Short Stories |