Cherries, Lies, and Dental Peril: One Man’s Journey Through Fruit-Triggered Panic

You think breakfast is safe—until a dried cherry launches a full-scale dental emergency and your bathroom turns into a crime scene for one tooth’s survival. If you’ve ever doubted the fine print on a snack bag or questioned your entire life while holding a Waterpik like a pressure washer at a car wash… this post is for you.

I was eating some dried cherries this morning. The bag said the cherries’ pits were all gone. Four cherries later I asked myself why I believed everything I read on the package. I crunched down on a dried cherry with its’ pit still intact. My first thought was, is my tooth still intact? The heck with hygiene, I jammed a forefinger into my mouth and cautiously felt the tooth. I tried to move it to the left, then to the right. So far so good, but it hurt. The next test was the water pic. I reasoned if I give a high pressure spray that will be a good test. In my mind there were only two possible outcomes. The first being, any food particles around the tooth would flow out of my mouth into the sink. The second being, I let out a whoop that would make a dog howl. I decided to kick the test up a notch and use cold water, forget the sane approach of using warm water Why am I subjecting myself to this possible torture? I hate going to the dentist. I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve never heard a person tell me, “Ray, I am so excited. I’m going to the dentist.” My mind jumps into catastrophe mode. I’ll need a root canal. No, that would be too easy. He’ll pull it out and tell me I need a tooth transplant, there goes three grand. The best case scenario my fragile mind played with was that I’d need a dental crown. Enough of this. i took a deep breath, bent over the sink, turned the water pic on and opened my mouth. No pain. No insane scream coming from my lips. I’ve got to practice mindful eating. Maybe I’ll go back and read one of my blogs. I think wrote something about that.