toothpick

Toothpick

Today’s blog title is on toothpick. Not because I have a particular affiliation towards the use of toothpick, but merely because I am bored and just feel like crapping in words. Starting from now:

I was first introduced to a toothpick when I was 6 years old. Well, I am sure I was familiar with the toothpick prior to its use, but seeing and using the toothpick is two very different concept. The use of the toothpick is an art, a tradition that starts from the glory days of cowboys stuck in the outback, with nothing in the horizon to do except for a flimsy piece of wooden stick to chew on. And like all badass cowboys in old western black and white movies, at first, I merely used the toothpick as a cool accessory, held it like how you would hold a cigarette, and then chewed on the thing absent mindedly till I taste wooden chips on my tongue.

Of course the novelty of the cool accessory soon wears off when you are young, active and restless. Soon after, when I actually started using the toothpick for its functions instead of its aesthetic appeal, I begin to learn the true value of a good and sharp toothpick. Especially those with the green minty thing at the tip. I can’t tell you how many times have the toothpick saved me from a bad cavity, even tooth plaq by simply assisting in unstucking those stubborn pieces of food lodged in the tiny slits between teeth, especially during my wisdom tooth growing era. It is easy to use too, unlike the thing called floss that often makes an idiot out of a person when he/she tries to strategically slip in a piece of string at different angles just to take out that few pieces of residual food in between teeth. Using the toothpick is so much easier. You simply have to first use the tip of your tongue to feel out the protruding food pieces that are stucked, and proceed to just skillfully maneuver the tip of the toothpick to the particular location, then fling the piece of stubborn food out (neatly into tissue papers of course, shifty eyes).

However, the toothpick is regretfully not for the weak hearted. Sometimes when the tip is sharp enough, and when there is an accidental slip of the hand, the toothpick often succeeds in scarring the softly tissued gums in your mouth by drawing blood. But that, for the more bad-assed users is part of the thrill and challenge. It gives them the aim and the focus to master the skills of handling the toothpick like the dental health assisting tool it is, rather than turning it into a hazardous wooden weaponry through negligent use. I have been using the toothpick for many many years my friends, but I am still sad to announce that the toothpick is still my enemy at times. I am confident however with each pick that I am getting closer to my goal of making it my dental fairy, and not foe.

If you know me well, you would know that I hate new words that renders old, similar meaning, but richer words into exile for no reason all. Similarly, I don’t like the floss because of how it is slowly displacing the toothpick product. The floss may be a more superior, safer dental hygiene tool, but I ask, does it have the novelty and convenience that the toothpick holds? Nobody ever looks cool in floss, even celebrities in film. And the floss often gets saliva on your hand, so it can’t be used in public, without being accompanied by humiliation. The toothpick on the other hand, is always easy to carry around, and is often found in restaurants. However, it would only stay so, if we all dutily use the toothpick, one after each meal, especially so if we are eating out, to ensure that it regains its old day glory. It is my responsibility, and yours, to prolong the legacy of toothpicks, and acknowledge dental hygiene by rewarding its finest invention.

The toothpick is here to stay, people. And I wouldn’t have it the other way. Finally, a quote for the mind to ponder deeply- three toothpicks a day, keeps the dentist away. May all the toothpicks in the world assist you, yes you, in the journey to keep all teeth white, clean, healthy and fresh.

The end.

- thy name is irony

~ by holidayarmidilla on July 16, 2009.