Monday, 19 April 2010 -- Day 120 (133)

Mom was right.......as usual. She said that taking good care of your teeth was most important, and she emphasized this even more after her bicycle accident when she was in her mid-50's. She was just about home when the bike pedal caught on the grass of the parking, stopping the bike in its tracks and sending her flying over the handle-bars. She knocked out a couple of teeth and had to have a partial plate. She always hated that and repeatedly reminded me that her Aunt Ella had her own teeth until the day she died b/c she took immaculate care of them. Turns out Mom and Aunt Ella were brilliant and far ahead of their time. Research coming out of Rochester University in the area of cosmetic face-lifts is showing that the bones in the face deteriorate just like other bones in the body. X-rays of people from a variety of age groups, including the elderly, show that people who no longer have their own teeth show an even more rapid deterioration of the jaw line. This means the plastic surgeon has to do more extensive building up and injecting of fat to prevent the face-lift from looking like a piece of deer skin drawn taut across a rib cage. Not that I ever plan on getting a face-life, but don't worry, Mom, I brush morning and night, although I need to start flossing more.