Even though I brush my teeth regularly, I do have a sweet tooth. I cannot help but love candy and sugary treats that unfortunately like to rot my teeth. In high school, I had to get a root canal and a crown on one of my molars. This tooth was on the bottom right row of teeth. At the same time one of my molars on the bottom left was going down the same road. However, this one got so bad that my tooth started to decay. Recently, I went to the dentist and was told that I needed to get that tooth pulled out immediately before I got an infection. I am not scared of the dentist at all, but there is no pain close to the pain from an aching tooth. I had never had a tooth pulled before, so this was a completely new experience for me. In addition to being told that I needed that tooth taken out immediately, the dentist discovered two smaller cavities. She said that they were not too bad, but I might as well take care of them before they do get bad.
In my many years of being in school I have encountered my fair share of toxic people. These people have sometimes camouflaged themselves as friends of fine. Some others made their ill will toward me very apparent from the beginning. Most of the time, however, they played the friend role. It was not until something happened and our "friendship" fell apart, that their toxicity was uncovered. This may be simply making sly, rude comments at first, then not inviting you to group events. Then things get worse -- they start saying mean things directly to you. These things may be talking down on you, or criticizing the decisions you make. Unless you remove these people from your life, their toxicity can spread throughout your life.
Cavities, similar to toxic people, do not usually surface right away. At first, there are just a few pains here and there, a rude comment or two, a pain when eating candy. It is not until a third party tells you about what they see happening with your friend or the dentist tells you about the cavity that you realize that there is even a problem. Sometimes it's too late, like the case with my tooth that had to be pulled. Other times it is at the beginning of the issue similar to the two minor cavities the dentist found. If these things go unaddressed, they both can be detrimental to your health. Problems with your teeth can cause loss of sight, issues with your brain and in extreme cases, death. Toxic people in your life can lower your self esteem, ruin other friendships and lower your trust in people in future relationships.
In the same way that you need to see the dentist regularly, you should examine your relationships regularly, doing the proper extractions of teeth or people as necessary.
