In the never ending excitement of our personal lives, we went to the dentist today. We go four times per year because that is what our insurance covers. The way we handle it is that Ginny goes first. Why does that matter? Simple. She loves to communicate (talk) with anybody she finds willing to listen. Our hygienist qualifies. Ginny updates Leigh about everything that happened in the last three months. This understandably prolongs the appointment since the dental hygiene process necessarily stops when the patient is talking.

Now, this is to my great benefit. That means that Leigh has no questions and I have no additional information. Therefore there is no reason for me to be talking and the whole process of tooth cleaning torture can proceed with dispatch. I am happy. Leigh is happy. The peasants rejoiced and peace returned to the realm.

But the real story of today at the dentist is the annual bitewing X-Rays. They do this every year. The big step forward over the last few years is the use of digital sensors in place of film. This has two great advantages. First, there is no need to develop film. The image is instantly available on the computer screen. Second, the sensors are probably very sensitive meaning that the required radiation dosage is very low. I did a little reading and found, depending on who you ask, that one bitewing procedure (4 exposures) is about 1% of the annual background exposure to radiation here in the US.

So lets hear it for technology.