Beaver Anal Gland Secretions Revisited

Yesterday, I had my semi-annual check up at the dentist.  These visits generally don't rattle me, as I take pretty good care of my teeth.  I haven't had a cavity since I was a kid and I brush and floss regularly.  

As a matter of fact, I purchased one of those nifty Sonicare toothbrushes and quite frankly, it's been one of the best investments I've ever made.  Rarely, am I at the dentist for more than 30 minutes and it would be less than that, if the hygienist and I didn't chatter so much together.  I do not have to endure that awful scraping sound in my head, as the hygienist uses her steel tools to clean the plaque off of my teeth.  There simply isn't that much there, thanks to the electric toothbrush.

When my hygienist commented how good my teeth looked, I gave credit entirely to that wonderful toothbrush of mine.  She laughed and informed me that there are LOTS of people who actually purchase one of them, but fail to use it enough to make a difference.

That just boggled my brain.  I mean, how could you NOT brush your teeth?  Especially if you sunk some serious cash into a primo electric toothbrush?!

While pondering the insanity of that statement, my hygienist asked me what flavor of polish I wanted: cinnamon, mint or raspberry?

I normally opt for mint, but I have been missing my grandma a lot lately, so I went with raspberry, as she always had a lot of them in her garden.  As soon as the word, "raspberry," left my lips, I had an overwhelming wave of regret, thanks to beaver anal gland secretions.

Yes, beaver anal gland secretions.  We've discussed them previously in this blog.  Also known as Castoreum, beaver anal gland secretions are commonly used in artificial raspberry flavoring.  Also strawberry and sometimes even vanilla, according to my research.

So, as the hygienist continued to polish my teeth with that little motorized metal piece, I had this evil little beaver giggling at me in my mind.  He was dancing and spinning around to wave his tail at me, or his "anal glands" more aptly.

Never before have my teeth felt so clean and so dirty all at the same time.