The 10%

Guys, I have a wild story to tell you!

I decided to change dentists recently, and had an appointment with a new one who I'd never met before. I get there, nice office, looks perfectly fine. See the hygienist, do the cleaning, etc. Then the dentist comes in and he's like ok, everything looks great, call us if ever you have any pain or concerns.

So I said, well, should I come back in 6 months or 12 for my next cleaning...??

And he looks at me and says (seriously), no no that's not necessary.

I guess he could tell I was SUPER confused cause then he says, well...you know how on your toothpaste tube it says 9 out of 10 dentists recommend twice daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste to prevent cavities?? I'm the 1 in 10.

At this point my jaw is like hanging on the floor, and I have SO MANY questions, but all I managed was an "Excuse me??"

And he goes on to tell me that toothpaste companies are just out to make money and so are dentists (but that he would never take advantage of his patients that way), and that as long as I don't eat too much sugar and have enough greens to prevent scurvy and gum disease, I should be all set!

If you've gotten this far, you must be thinking OMG, like just change dentists this guy is a total quack!!

But my dentist is actually awesome and this whole thing is a lie.

Imagine this conversation was with your doctor, and instead of talking about the health of your teeth, you were talking about the COVID-19 vaccine.

There is so much discourse about this topic online and I see so many comments from people stating that not all doctors are recommending it, and there isn't any long term data, so there is no way they are getting it. Both those things are true.

But the doctors who aren't recommending it are the minority, just like my fake dentist. Science is a methodology, a peer review process for arriving at conclusions, and making cause/effect relationships. It's not an absolute truth, things evolve. This vaccine is the best chance at normalcy we have right now, and it's been approved through the same process as every other vaccine - minus the red tape that usually takes forever. The clinical trials were all done per the established processes. I'm not an expert, but this info is readily available. And in terms of long term effects - of course...we don't know what we don't know. BUT - we also have no idea what the long term effects of getting COVID are. I'll take my chances and side with the 90%, who are all a lot smarter than me anyways.

So, if you're nervous about getting a new vaccine, I hear you. I understand you. But I urge you to re-examine your reasons for not getting it. There will always be a minority of professionals sowing that seed of doubt...but if you thought I should change dentist, maybe you need to think again about your position on this too.