As at least one person remembered, I had an appointment with Dr. Westman back in late November or early December. My weight loss has semi-stalled. I’ve tried a lot of different things but no lasting joy. I need help. He asked for two things before my follow up. First, that I go get a bunch of blood tests. Second, that I visit the dentist. The former makes sense and I’ll post the results below. The latter not so much. We went over the reasons for stalled weight loss and his list was generally like everyone else’s, i.e. Carb Creep, etc. Then we went over some of the things that could be causing general inflammation. He asked, any recent scars, aches, pains….. and I said that I had an intermittent tooth ache under an old root canal. He said that could be an infection and to get it checked out.

Well I hate going to the dentist. Hate it. I enjoy procrastinating almost as much as I hate going to the dentist. Needless to say, I very much enjoy procrastinating on making an appointment to go to the dentist. But I made one and I went. The first thing I found out is that the last time I went to the dentist was in 2009. Almost six years ago. Back then I had two cavities over one year. This time I only had one cavity and no infections but here is the surprising part. First the hygienist and then the dentist were simply amazed at the bone structure under my teeth. They said they found it truly hard to believe it was so good even though it has been six years since my last cleaning. I do floss a lot.

The hygienist and I have known each other a long time. Our sons played youth soccer and HS football together. When I walked in and she recognized me she said, “You’ve lost a lot of weight. Was it intentional? (Yes!) What did you do?” I held back at first. I always do. I’ve gotten used to the “ATKINS! THAT WORKS? Well I hope you keep it off…..” reaction and said “You won’t believe it….”, “You’ll say I cheated….”, “I’ve been doing it for 2-1/2 years now…” and finally I told her. She did not know what to say. No criticisms of the diet. No atta boys. She just didn’t process it.

So what did she attribute the bone structure to? Flossing. She said I must be flossing really, really well. What do I think? I do not agree. Keep the carbs out of my mouth and I’d bet tooth decay goes away. The Google finds half a hundred links to this. Here is one from our forum: forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=417146