216 Where There Is No Dentist 2012
Making Other Instruments and Supplies
Spoon: Bend a paper clip or needle. Flatten the end. Then pound a small stone
against the end, to make it hollow. Make 2 bends and attach to a stick handle.
Filling Tool: Remove the heads from 2 long screws. With a file and
hammer, make the end of one screw flat and the end of the other screw
round. Bend each end in the direction of the edge (not the face) of the flat
side. Attach both working pieces to a small stick handle.
Dental Floss: When using string to clean between your teeth (pages
71–72), you may have trouble getting this string down in between your
teeth. Sometimes, also, the string gets caught there, forming a kind of
‘bird’s nest’. Three things can cause problems with dental floss:
1. An incorrectly made filling—flat and
rough instead of round and smooth.
Replace the filling.
2. Teeth too tight together. Use the floss
on a tooth. Then pull the string out from
between the teeth as you press the
free end down against the gum with the
fingers of your other hand. If there is a
sharp filling on a tooth, the string will
pass under the filling as it comes free.
3. String that is too thick. Make thinner
but stronger floss by waxing as in this
picture. The wax also will make the floss
easier to slide between your teeth.
(1) Soak thin string in hot wax.
(2) To remove the extra wax, pull
the string between your fingers.