KiiSoKo – Kickin It In South Korea

So thanks to my cousin Steven, we now know that Calculus is a type of plaque buildup. While it is good to see that the Soju breweries are promoting good oral health, I don’t believe the locals have gotten the message. I think there are a few reasons aside from the sheer eagerness to get home and open the new bottle of Soju. One, you cannot drink the water here, so all drinking water is bottled water. That’s fine with me, except I have to walk down to the 5^th floor of my building to the nearest water machine. And once it is filled, I have to lug the entire water bottle back up to the top floor (9^th) where I live. My new year’s resolution was to “take the stairs.” The water machine uses reverse osmosis to purify the water. (I just made that up because it is the only water purification method I can cite) This means there is no fluoride added to the water, which, I believe, is a common practice in many US water plants.

The main reason dental hygiene seems to be a thing of the future is because they don’t seem to have any real powerful tooth paste. While it may say Anti Calculus, the derivative of the plaque still exists. The toothpaste here is like candy. A couple teaspoons of sugar are added to help entice users to brush more than the recommended twice a week. I have heard it is delicious on a cracker, and adds a wonderful burst of flavor to your morning mocha.

Needless to say I brought plenty of that really harsh “American” toothpaste, use it thrice daily and floss nightly. And until they find a way to make you want to swallow Listerine, I don’t think it will be flying off the shelves around here.