Battle of Yorktown, and Dentures?

The Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory that signaled the end of the American Revolution.  It was the result of coordinating combined forces of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by British General Charles Cornwallis. 

If you are ever so inclined to learn a bit more about the American Revolution, click here for a PBS documentary.  

You've all probably have seen photos of George Washington's dentures, but little did you think that it may have helped shaped the course of history.  According to MountVernon.org:

Washington, who always treated his dental troubles as a state secret, was mortified to learn that a mail packet that included a personal letter requesting dental cleaning tools had been intercepted by the British. Washington’s letter to his dentist pointed out that he had “little prospect of being in Philadelph. soon..” and that the tooth scrapers should be sent to him outside New York by mail.

When Sir Henry Clinton, commander of the British forces in North America, saw this personal letter he was convinced that the other official military correspondence within that same intercepted packet must be genuine. Even worse for Clinton and the British, the contents of the packet and Washington’s claim that he would not be in Philadelphia anytime soon convinced the British high command in New York that the American and French forces encamped around New York City would not be marching south to threaten Lord Cornwallis’ isolated command near Yorktown.

What Clinton did not know was that Washington and Rochambeau had just planned out their movement south to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown. Clinton’s failure to more rapidly reinforce or rescue Cornwallis led to the complete British defeat at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

For better fitting dentures or implants, visit www.SignatureDentalOffice.com

Signature Dental News: Snoring / Divorce

One of many random thoughts of the day. Hope you at least get a little laugh.
http://signaturedental.blogspot.com/2017/01/snoring-divorce.html

Snoring / Divorce

I think I may have found the major reason for divorces.  Let me explain.  My wife and I have never really fought in the 16 years of marriage and 20 years of knowing each other.  They say it’s healthy for couples to fight sometimes, but we just can’t seem to come up with something to argue over for extended periods of time.   There was that time when I kept changing radio stations on our drive to Yellowstone, or that time when we had a deep conversation about where to squeeze the toothpaste. 

But recently, I have finally found something that really pisses of the sweet wife, which magically transform her into a defiant angry boxer, floating like butterfly, stinging like a bee.  My snoring, and subsequently, her sleep deprivation.  One of the side effects of sleep deprivation is that the offending spouse appears rather unattractive and downright ugly, studies find.

On a typical night, I fall asleep with my hands raised high (like-I-just-don’t-care) legs apart to what I imagine to be an “X,” or DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man.  

I get a gentle nudge “Stop snoring,” she says.

I mumble incomprehensibly. Three minutes later, a jab.  “You’re snoring again.”

She must be dreaming because I don’t snore, nor do I ever remember snoring.  Five minutes later, another blow, considerably sharper that the previous.  This continues until the morning when I’m left with signs of blunt force trauma.  I’m convinced there were round-house kicks involved.  She looks disheveled and irritated, with panda eyes, cranky and angry as I’ve never seen her before.

Snoring has probably caused more marital discord than any I-saw-you-checking-out-that-girl moments.  It’s probably why twin beds are sold in increasing record numbers.  And for some of us who are blessed to have a guest room, you may have already renamed it as the ‘snore room.’  And for the rest of us, maybe the ‘snore couch’ will suffice.

Being a dentist, I’m well aware of oral appliances, sleep apnea devices, snore guards, etc. etc., many of which reduce or eliminate snoring to the delight of wives worldwide.  There’s even a suction thingy that sucks out the tongue that makes you look like a totally bratty kid throughout the night.   But alas, I’m at a point where I actually need one, and will have my lab fabricate one once my wife (gladly) takes an impression of my upper and lower dentition.   But not the tongue suction thingy—yet.  I have to draw the line somewhere.  

Personally, this raised the question, what did people do before the advent of new technologies and techniques we have today?  It turns out in ancient times, many cures revolved around driving evil spirits away. Sometimes, it involved drilling holes in the skull, which probably worked if the trepanation was to the back of the head forcing the guy to sleep on his side.  If he died, that solved the snoring also.  Babylonians slept with a human skull for seven days, kissing and licking it seven times each night.  While no research has shown to prove or disprove this method, more recent studies have shown that snoring is the direct result of combining breathing and sleeping.  As such, if you eliminate the sleeping aspect or the breathing aspect, snoring will likely be eliminated. 

Getting back on point, if you do a google search for top reasons for divorce, you’ll see a list, ALL of which are EASILY and GREATLY exacerbated or directly caused by lack of sleep.  So if you snore, I personally encourage you to seek treatment for this devastating disease, and let it be known that I not only save teeth, but also marriages.  ^_^