Member-only story
Dental health in a pandemic
Disclaimer: This is not intended to be medical advice. This is merely an account of my own research and actions for my own dental health.
*Trigger Warning* Hinduphobia, lack of access to healthcare, poverty
Who wants to go to the dentist in the middle of a pandemic? No one, that’s who. Especially in the USA where dental care is a fantasy for any poor person because prices are sky high for even basic care. That’s why if you travel in certain states you’ll find a lot of people in obvious and desperate need of dental care but they’ll never get any.
I’m obsessed with oral hygiene (it’s a Hindu cultural trait) so I’m vigilant about things like this. When the pandemic began and the westerners were fighting each other over toilet paper, I was quietly buying up eco friendly toothbrushes, vegan bamboo floss, and vegan toothpaste. “There is no way I’m doing the apocalypse with a filthy mouth,” I said to myself. Now, if I’d been in India I wouldn’t have to buy these things because I could just pick a twig off a neem tree (which acts as both brush and floss) like a normal person. However, I was in the colonizing USA, so like an obsessed capitalist I bought up enough toothbrushes and toothpaste to last me an entire year with enough to share with others (because I’ve got Hindu public health priorities westerners…
