Cavities

A birthday came round the other day, as they tend to every now and then in a family with eight people. Since it was the birthday of an adult, and no real party was to take place, we went to a store and every child was allowed the treat of picking a small bag of candy each and an ice cream. With smiles and giggles at such a fun treat we all made our way to the check out counter. Excitedly, one of the youngest placed the small shopping basket on the counter and smiled in happy anticipation as the clerk began to scan the goodies. You would have thought the joy and excitement would have been apparent and contagious but instead the clerk looked at the sweet happy innocent face and said "oh boy, someone is going to have a lot of cavities!" All smiles vanished and sad confused looks crept into their place. I quickly and firmly, in as polite a manner as possible, gave a stern reprimand conveying that this was a birthday celebration, we were a big family, and this was a once in a while treat.

Never mind the fact that my kids hardly ever have soda, drink a ton of water, are vegetarian, have no sugary cereals, and as of last dental check up, my kids and I do not have a single cavity. Forget the fact that this person is not a doctor or health worker, does not know me or my family, and was never asked for advice or his opinion, I realized I had fond a cavity.

This cavity is one most do not notice or do anything about. You can not go to a dentist, and no amount of brushing or flossing will prevent or help correct this gap in people's thought process.

You see we were at a store where a lot of alcohol is sold. In fact the customers behind us were buying three cases of beer. Yet not once have I heard a store clerk say "Oh boy, I see someone wants to kill some more brain cells!" or "Oh boy, I see someone wants to go act like a fool!" or "Oh boy. I see you want to add to the chances of crime, stupidity, violence and death in the world!" or "Oh boy, I see someone is going to have liver problems!" I wonder how much alcohol they would sell then or how many customers they would  have. Yet how true those statements would be!

But nothing was said, nor have I ever heard such things said. I have heard people telling those overweight what they do and do not need to be eating and when, I have heard complete strangers tell children with candy that they will have cavities, I have heard carnivores telling vegetarians that they are weird and what they eat is gross (what could be more discusting then eating a dead animal, many of which are covered in feces as a bonus?). I have also heard people who drink asking people who don't if they are alcoholics and if not why they don't drink.

What is missing in our collective thinking? What type of crater has been created by a society were fiction, not fact, determines what we speak out against and what we choose to ignore. This is dangerous. Just like a cavity in your mouth, this type of thinking can grow, rot, become infected, and before you know it can create a  whole chain of problems.

So once home, while we all enjoyed our special treats and the important day, it was not cavities in my children's teeth I worried about. Instead it was the collective cavity in our society that I felt the need to protect not only our children, but our entire family from.