Re: the suicidal thoughts/vaccine meme:
Went to the dentist about a month ago for some dental work and cleaning. Refused the x-rays - just had x-rays recently and didn’t want them again so soon. (My dad had salivary gland cancer and he has wondered if so many dental x-rays might have caused it. I know they are not as strong as they used to be.) Got a lecture on “there MIGHT be something new” from hygienist, who grudgingly acquiesced to my wishes, and then asked me what I brushed my teeth with, and I told her and she paused and then said, “I guess you don’t believe in fluoride either.” Sigh.
Didn’t tell her I haven’t had a vaccine in years either, but wanted to . . . .
Re Dental Flouride:
At my last dental appointment, they automatically included a flouride treatment in their proposed plan! Never had that happen before. They are pushing flouride hard.
I refused it, but I wonder if they went ahead and charged Medicare for it.
Priceless account. 😊
Reminds me of getting the orthodontist to put braces on my sons, without xrays. I doubt the orthos of today could keep their license without xrays in their patient records, today.
(I’ve had since to sign a waiver at my dentist’s office.)
My insistence, also, was based on the over-strength of xrays being all too common when I was growing up. We had two nice family operated shoe stores in town. The preferred brands store had an xray machine to size the customer’s feet!
It was shaped like the old juke box, but much smaller. Step both feet into the flat of it on the floor, lean over the top and peer down into the screen and push “play”. You could view the very skeleton of both feet! The measure was right there along side each foot to “determine size”.
Terribly fascinating for we kids hanging around the thing, picking up some rads for fun, while mothers shopped shoes, bags and nylons.
It wasn’t too many years before there was no sign of the xray machine.
Dental/medical x-rays: As an old radiation related worker, decades ago, I’ve always told my dentists, etc. that I want to minimize radiation exposure so limit x-rays to something actually necessary. And I’ve heard the techs claim many times that “well, you know the new machines have really low exposure.” A giant pet peeve for me is that no med person EVER, has been able to tell me what that exposure might be.
Industrial radiation workers get a permanent record of their lifetime exposure and they can get it if a question comes up. But not knowing what x-ray exposure might be from any particular machine is prit neer criminal.
Remember the fluoroscope foot machines in shoe stores? While looking at your feet every year or two might not hurt you , the folks who worked in the shoe stores were getting constant, un-regulated or accounted exposure. The machines went out of fashion without knowing how many Al Bundys got brain cancer?
MarQ