I went to the dentist this morning for a routine cleaning. I’m back in tomorrow for a rescheduled jaw appointment that just coincidentally happened to be the day after I was just in there. Whatever, it’s on my way to work and I’ll at least get to watch another movie while laid back in the chair.

But this morning got me thinking. I spend so much time every year at the dentist either getting checkups or doing maintenance on existing dental work. I’m not in there that much… probably 5 hours a year. But compare that time spent on such a small area of your body with how much time you spend getting the rest of your entire body checked out. At my general doctor, I likely spend 45 minutes a year at the very most with my doctor. And that’s for my entire body! A yearly checkup takes about 20 minutes which consists of checking my height and weight, checking flexibility (I’m not kidding) and a couple of coughs out loud. “You can touch your toes, you must be fine”.

What’s the number one killer in North America? I believe it’s cancer. Possibly heart disease. How come even a fraction of the yearly time you spend making sure your chompers are their pearly whitest, we as a society aren’t doing the same for cancer? Why aren’t there doctors or clinics you visit every 6 months to make sure you don’t have skin cancer or a tumour growing that you don’t find out about until it’s too late?

Personally, I’d trade my teeth over having cancer anyday.