When you think of Valentine’s Day, what comes to mind? For me, I think of flowers, stuffed toys, and chocolates! February 14th is nearing, and as we all know, it is a day full of joy and love – at least for most – and discounted chocolate for those of us who have yet to find that special someone to buy overpriced flowers for. Yet, we don’t always share our love with others in the best way on Valentines. In fact, many people get left behind on a day that is supposed to be about love and kindness.
If you think about the gifts you’ve received most on Valentine’s Day in previous years, the most common item we give each other is chocolate. Yes, I agree – chocolate is irresistibly tasty and addictive. But, it truthfully is not a great gift for our oral health. As soon as we bite on a piece of chocolate, the immensely high sugar content creates an excellent environment for bad bacteria to thrive. By feeding on the sugar, the bacteria release acids that result in the demineralization of our enamel. This is what eventually creates the painful cavities in your mouth! But hey, we are not saying you have to cut chocolate all the way out of your diet. We get it, it is phenomenally delicious. But we do ask you to consider this:
Each year on Valentine’s Day, many homeless individuals also receive a lot of gifts from local community members. As you would have imagined, a lot of chocolate is also given to them. If we want the best for the homeless community, shouldn’t we also be giving them something that will help them out in any way possible? If you answered ‘yes’, why don’t we work together to raise donations to provide oral hygiene products to the homeless community as well?
Like all of us, people who struggle with unstable housing also want to receive love. You can give this love by maybe scratching off a few chocolate bars or flowers from the list of your gifts this year and showing that you really care about the health of our community. Donate to Toronto Tooth this Valentine’s Day and give the homeless community the basic oral hygiene products that they need. Toronto Tooth, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping Torontonians experiencing unstable housing to receive basic oral health care products, including toothbrushes, floss, and toothpastes.
I believe that we can work together to create a difference in our community through helping the homeless community reclaim their rights to basic hygiene necessities. Make your contributions today, and help us bring basic oral health care products to the homeless community by February 14th!
EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE LOVED. INCLUDING THOSE WHO EXPERIENCE UNSTABLE HOUSING
❤️
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