Review: Dentemp O.S. Temporary Tooth Filling

A few weeks ago, I had the extremely unpleasant experience of having a dental filling which had been placed in my wisdom tooth fall out while I was eating. I knew as soon as it fell out, because immediately a surge of pain shot through my face and throughout my head. It was absolutely awful. I immediately headed to the drugstore and bought some Anbesol gel, which certainly numbed the pain as soon as I applied it. The problem with Anbesol (and other oral numbing agents like it) is that it doesn't actually do anything to solve the problem; instead, it simply numbs the pain, and unfortunately it wears off quickly so it needs to be reapplied frequently. 

I knew it was going to take me a couple of weeks to save up enough money to get to a dentist, and I needed a more permanent "fix" for my lost filling in the meantime. I headed back to the drugstore and looked more closely at the Oral Care aisle. It was during this second trip to the drugstore that I found a product called "Dentemp O.S. Temporary Tooth Filling." The package contained a small vial of putty and a white "scoop," and it stated that I could use the putty to create a temporary filling so strong I could eat on it. It also promised immediate pain relief. At $4.59, I was quite skeptical of these claims, but I was desperate to ease my tooth pain, so I decided to go ahead and buy it. 

The directions were relatively straight forward. After rinsing my mouth with water to remove any loose particles, I was supposed to take a small amount of the putty material out of the vial with the white scoop and roll it into a little ball. Then, with my fingers, I would just press the putty into the hole created by the lost filling, remove the excess material, then rinse my mouth with water once again to "set" the temporary filling. Easy enough. 

When I got the putty in my hands, it reminded me very much of the "sticky tack" material we used to use in elementary school to hang things on the wall. When I went to put the Dentemp O.S. material in my mouth, I was surprised how easy it was to fill the hole in my tooth completely and remove the excess material with just the pressure of my finger. After just a few seconds of working with the Dentemp material, the temporary filling was in place and my tooth once again had a smooth, closed surface instead of a gaping hole. Even more noticeable was the fact that as soon as the Dentemp was in place, my tooth pain subsided immediately. I was very impressed. 

I waited a few hours before trying to eat anything, but when I did, the Dentemp temporary filling stayed in place just like the package said it would. The temporary filling also held up to repeated brushings, which I found especially impressive. My Dentemp filling didn't really start to chip until about a week after I put it in place, which was easily remedied by just placing a very small amount of the material over the chip. The single vial I bought said it has enough Dentemp material to replace 10 lost fillings, but based on the amount I used, I think it could actually replace many, many more...you need such a small amount, it is almost unbelievable. 

With the help of Dentemp O.S. Temporary Tooth Filling, I was able to wait 3 weeks to see a dentist when I lost my filling with relatively little discomfort. I still find it hard to believe how such an inexpensive, unassuming little product I almost looked over could work so well. If you have lost a filling and need to buy yourself some time to get to the dentist, I would highly recommend this product from Dentemp. For less than five dollars, I promise it will be one of the best purchases you will ever make.

Which Dance Pad is Best for Dance Dance Revolution?

Years ago, I was walking past the arcade in the mall when I saw someone playing the video game "Dance Dance Revolution" (also known as "DDR"), and I was immediately mesmerized. I couldn't believe that anyone could actually keep up with the arrows scrolling speedily along with the music, and I knew I wanted to learn how to play the game. I picked up a Dance Dance Revolution disc for my Playstation 2, and a soft, fold-up dance pad was included with the game. For quite a while this soft dance pad sufficed, and slowly but surely I taught myself how to play the game. As I began to get better and move on to harder levels, however, I realized there were some problems with the soft dance pad. 

For starters, the soft pad was made out of extremely lightweight material, so it would slip around on my floor and move out from under my feet. The harder and faster the DDR dance steps got, the more I noticed the problem with the dance pad slipping and moving around. Also, although the soft pad had arrows printed on it to show you where to step, it wasn't necessarily apparent where the sensor was contained in the soft pad, so sometimes I would make a dance step correctly but it wouldn't be registered and Dance Dance Revolution would show that I missed the step. This became very frustrating as I got better at DDR, since often times this problem would cause a long combo to end and would ultimately lower my score and dance rating. 

Frustrated, I began to search the internet for a better Dance Dance Revolution dance pad. It didn't take me long to discover that there are many, many third-party dance pads available for the various game consoles. Many of these pads were simply modified versions of the soft dance pad I already had. But a few of the DDR pads I saw were actually solid, made out of metal or plastic. These hard dance pads had the huge advantage of weighing enough that they wouldn't slip or move from underneath me while I was playing the video game. Also, the hard dance pads had large buttons that you press with your feet as you dance, so there is never any question as to whether or not you're hitting the sensor or whether a step you make will be registered. I knew if I was serious about Dance Dance Revolution I would need a better Dance Pad, so I went ahead and ordered a hard plastic model. 

Once I received my hard dance pad, the difference in my game scores was like night and day. I could do much better on the DDR songs with the hard dance pad, and I found that the super-fast songs became much easier once I had the proper equipment. The hard dance pads don't fold up and are rather large, so they're not the best for traveling with, but if you primarily intend to play Dance Dance Revolution in your own home, I would highly recommend purchasing a hard dance pad. The pads made out of plastic are cheaper than the ones made out of metal, and you should be able to find a good quality hard dance pad for less than $100 if you search the internet for a good deal. I never though that the dance pad I was using could make such a big difference, but if you are a big DDR fan, you'll definitely want to ditch your soft dance pad and replace it with a plastic or metal one.

How to Get the Nicotrol Inhaler Without a Prescription

In recent years, a number of smoking cessation products have hit the over-the-counter market. In America, you can now buy the nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or nicotine lozenges right from your local pharmacy or mass retailer without the need to first get a prescription from a doctor. This over-the-counter status for nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) is no doubt responsible for many, many people using them and quitting smoking. There are still two nicotine replacement therapies that do require a prescription from a doctor in America: the Nicotrol Inhaler and Nicotrol Nasal Spray. Many smokers are interested in trying the Nicotrol Inhaler (which delivers a low, safe dose of nicotine via a mouthpiece that mimics a cigarette) but haven't because they have needed a prescription. 

On my last quit attempt, I was extremely interested in trying out the Nicotrol Inhaler, as I have used nicotine gum and patches in the past without much success. I was ready to go to my doctor to ask for a prescription for the nicotine inhaler, but I decided to do some research on the internet about it first. As it turns out, the Nicotrol Inhaler is sold in many, many foreign countries as the "Nicorette Inhaler." The Nicotrol Inhaler and the Nicorette Inhaler are exactly the same--they use the exact same mouthpiece that holds the exact same nicotine cartridges. The only reason for the name difference in America is the prescription status of the nicotine inhaler. Most other countries have approved the nicotine inhaler as safe for over-the-counter consumption, but the United States FDA has not yet decided to make it over-the-counter. 

There is a huge difference in price between the Nicotrol and Nicorette Inhalers, however. As a prescription product, the Nicotrol Inhaler sells for about $100 for everything you'll need to use the device for about a week. In Canada, the exact same product sells for about $40 USD. So, I did what most reasonable consumers would do and purchased the product from a Canadian website. Since the product is over-the-counter in Canada, I didn't need a prescription, and I was able to save myself a lot of money when compared to the Nicotrol Inhaler. 

If you are thinking about trying the Nicotrol Inhaler to quit smoking, you should definitely look at importing it from Canada. Not only will you save money on the product itself, but you can also save yourself a trip to the doctor's office. The Nicorette Inhaler is packaged with clear directions to help you get the most from the product, and most people do not need a doctor to understand how to use the device.

Pretty Good Day

I've been depressed recently, but today was actually a pretty good day.  I woke up early and in a good mood...got myself out of the house and ran some much needed errands.  When I got home in the afternoon, I was able to put several hours worth of work into my blogs (yes!  Blogs...as in plural.  More on that in a future post!)  I took a little nap, had a wicked healthy dinner, and then even did some more writing and watched a little TV.  That might sound like a boring day to some, but compared to just spending the day in bed (which is what I had been doing), it's actually refreshing and fulfilling to get some stuff accomplished.

How was YOUR day?  Let me know in the comments box...I'd love to hear from my readers!

Will Zithromax Cure Strep Throat?

Very recently, like a lot of people in America, I got sick. It started with a fever, and then progressed to a sore throat and stuffiness. I figured I had gotten the flu, but I got concerned when my fever wasn't going away after a few days, so I decided to go to a local clinic to make sure it was just the flu. While I was there, they did a throat culture to test for strep throat. The in-office rapid strep test came back negative, but the culture that was sent off to a lab ended up testing positive for the strep bacteria. A doctor from the clinic called me and told me I should start taking penicillin to treat the strep throat, so I picked up my prescription and began antibiotic treatment. 

After 5 days on penicillin, however, my strep throat still wasn't cured, as I still had a lingering low-grade fever and a sore throat. I called the clinic and told the doctor who had written my penicillin prescription that I wasn't getting better. The doctor agreed to put me on a stronger antibiotic called Zithromax (the generic version is called azithromycin). I wanted to get better quickly so I was glad to be placed on a stronger antibiotic for my strep throat. 

A course of treatment with Zithromax is just 5 days, instead of 10 days like penicillin. The package stated that 5 doses of azithromycin is equivalent to 30 or more doses of a conventional antibiotic. For most people, you'll take 2 pills of Zithromax at once on the first day followed by 1 pill per day for 4 days, however be sure to follow the instructions the doctor gives you with your prescription. The package of Zithromax also stated that azithromycin taken days 1-5 keeps working days 6-10, so it stays active in your body a while after you stop taking it, which is great for stubborn cases of strep throat and other infections. 

I'm happy to report that within 24 hours of taking my first dose of Zithromax, my sore throat began to subside and my fever went away completely. Penicillin will cure many cases of strep throat, but not all of them. If you don't start feeling better within 48 hours of starting antibiotics for strep throat, you should call your doctor and see if a stronger antibiotic like Zithromax might be appropriate for you.

iPod Touch: How Long Does it Take to Fully Charge the Battery?

This year for my birthday, I was extremely fortunate to receive an iPod Touch from my boyfriend. The iPod Touch was a replacement for my iPod Nano, and within a few minutes of playing with it, I knew the iPod Touch was definitely not even in the same league as my iPod Nano. You can do all sorts of thing on an iPod Touch, like check your e-mail, surf the web, and even browse Facebook. Because it's so much more than a music player, I was concerned about the battery life on my iPod Touch. I figured the battery would probably drain a lot faster than my other iPod, so I always wanted to make sure the battery on my iPod Touch was fully charged whenever I left the house.

Then I began to wonder just how long it would actually take to completely charge the battery on my iPod Touch. So I decided to try a little experiment. I let the battery on my iPod Touch die completely, so that the iPod would not even power on. Then I plugged it in. As with most electronic devices, the battery on the iPod Touch is charged in two stages. The first stage is a "Quick Charge," which means that the battery on your iPod Touch can get an 80% charge by being plugged in for about 40 minutes. Once the battery reaches the 80% level, the charging switches to a "trickle charge." This means that while your iPod Touch can be charged to 80% relatively quickly, it will take much longer to get it up to a 100% charge. In my experiment, I found that it took about two additional hours for the iPod to go from being 80% charged to 100% charged. 

So overall, I had to leave my iPod plugged in for just over 3 hours for its battery to be fully charged. I was using a wall charger for my experiment, because when I just plug the iPod into a USB port on my computer it seems to charge slower. If you want your iPod Touch to charge as fast as possible, I would definitely recommend purchasing a wall charger which should cost less than $20. Once your iPod is fully charged, you should be able to get about 8-10 hours of heavy use out of it.

If You're Young and Going Bald, Talk to Your Doctor

Growing up, I thought that I was invincible. I was rarely sick growing up, never hospitalized, and in general experienced great health. I thought that I would never get old. Boy, it sure didn't take long for life to smack me in the face with a major reality check. At the ripe old age of 22, I began to lose my hair. 

At first, I just noticed a few hairs falling out here and there. Then, I noticed my hairline starting to creep back and my forehead starting to get bigger and bigger. But, I thought that I was really the only one that noticed. Then one night I was out at a bar having a drink and the bartender, who is a friend of mine, said "Hey, Rob, you know, I think you're going bald." That sealed the deal...something had to be done. 

I did some research and quickly figured out that 99% of the "baldness remedies" out there are a bunch of crap....I knew early on that I would be sticking to one of the handful of FDA-approved hair loss treatment options. Not wanting to have to see a doctor, the first one I tried was Rogaine (minoxidil), a topical treatment that is available over the counter. With in a few days, I knew that Rogaine wasn't going to work for me...I found that it made my hair greasy and having to apply it twice a day was extremely inconvenient. I knew that I needed another option. 

After a few more hours of internet research, I decided to take the plunge and talk to a doctor about getting a prescription for Propecia, the only FDA-approved pill to treat male hair loss. I didn't really have a primary care doctor at the time, so I looked on the Propecia website and found the doctor on their list that was closest to me. He happened to be a dermatologist. I called and scheduled an appointment a few weeks out. 

The "big day" of my appointment arrived and I was nervous...I certainly wasn't "bald" by any stretch of the imagination and I thought that the doctor was going to look at me like I was crazy. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. The doctor agreed that I was in the very beginning states of male pattern baldness and that I might benefit from trying Propecia. After a quick 10 minute discussion, I left with a prescription for a year of Propecia in my hand and a lot of hope that my hair loss could be stopped, if not reversed. 

While I don't have the time or credentials to discuss all the side-effects, benefits, and limitations of a prescription drug in this article, Merck, the manufacturer of Propecia, maintains an excellent website.  In addition, your doctor would be more than happy to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

I got the prescription filled, and it wasn't cheap. Insurance does not cover Propecia, so you have to pay the full price out of pocket, and I find that it generally costs me about $60 a month. As soon as I got my hands on my prescription, I began dutifully taking one pill of Propecia every morning as prescribed...and then I waited. And waited. And waited some more. 

Three months into it, I was ready to give up....even though the doctor had told me that most people don't see any results for at least 6 months. My brother encouraged me to keep taking it, noting that I had already invested a lot of money and another month or two wasn't going to break the bank. I'm so happy that I listened to him. 

At about 4 and a half months, something amazing started to happen. All of a sudden, I noticed that you couldn't see my scalp near the front of my head any more...the hair was starting to get thicker. I also noticed that I didn't have nearly as much hair falling out. Within a few more months, I noticed that my hair was noticeably thicker all over and my hairline was beginning to return to its "normal" position. 

For me, Propecia has been a wonder drug. A year and a half after I started taking it, I no longer even give any thought to losing my hair (except when I'm shelling out money for the pills). My hair loss has been completely reversed, and I don't feel like I'll be going bald any time soon. I know Propecia might not work for everyone, but for me it did and I want to shout it from the rooftops. 

I promise that I'm not some sort of paid writer for Merck or anything of the sort. I'm just a young guy who was losing my hair, and now I'm not and I think more guys my age should know about their treatment options. Even if Propecia isn't right for you, there may be other treatment options that are. You'll never know unless you ask. 

The fact of the matter is, the earlier you start treating your hair loss, the more likely it is that you'll have hair in the future. That's a proven, scientific fact. Get over the hour or two of "embarrassment" that you're afraid of, talk to your doctor, and find out if Propecia is right for you. Ten years from now when you have a full head of hair, you'll be glad that you did.