In case I haven't mentioned it enough, Kenyon and I moved back to the U.S. late last year after serving as missionaries for a short time overseas. We made some intentional sacrifices in choosing that life. We continue to choose some intentional sacrifices. However, we recently learned that there were also some unintentional sacrifices.
Kenyon and I had excellent teeth before moving overseas. No cavities. For me, it was the blessing of genetics as I was not the best at caring for my teeth. Medical care is difficult to come by in the places we lived recently - not available to the masses, and what is available is expensive. We had medical insurance, but it mostly covered catastrophic occurrences and included medical evacuation just in case. Dental was a luxury unavailable to us. Our medical coverage didn't cover us in the US, so even when we came home on leave it was unavailable.
Fast forward to the present, we have each seen a dentist in recent weeks. The news was surprising. Kenyon has double digit cavities. I have fewer, but one will require a root canal. Ugh!
My dentist tells me it is a combination of things that caused this. Her suggestions were tied to the water we drink while living overseas. Foreigners can't drink the water in most places, because it would make us sick. Thus, we had a purified water dispenser in our home for drinking/cooking water. Apparently what was supposed to keep us in good health had an unintended consequence - bad for oral health. I am told by my dentist that the lack of fluoride, plus the existence of iodine in the water was the winning combination.
Her suggestion was to take fluoride tablets with you and add them to the water bottles. Now if only I had that bit of knowledge a few years ago. It wasn't in our orientation packet or any book I read in preparation.
I share this for my friends still serving around the globe and for those considering a long-term stay - add fluoride tablets to the packing list, your teeth will thank you.
just Sheri, about to schedule a root canal
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