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Toothpaste Null-Terminator

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Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#51

Post by Vecr »

mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

I'm a lazy procrastinator and have never checked if my water if fluoridated, so I brush with fluoride toothpaste.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#52

Post by nick3443 »

Vecr wrote: post #51
mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

I'm a lazy procrastinator and have never checked if my water if fluoridated, so I brush with fluoride toothpaste.

Not that lazy if you brush your teeth, imo.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#53

Post by TacticalCoder »

> In programming, a sentinel value is a simple way to keep track of the end of a list of items.

A type of sentinels that are cute are "poison pills": when you have a queue and know at some points that no more items are coming, and several consumers, you can simplify the logic by putting as many poison pills at the end of queue as there are consuming threads.

When a consumer finds a poison pill, he stops removing/processing items for the queue.

As there are the same number of poison pills as there are consumers, all consuming threads shall eventually stop.

I probably learned about poison pills back in the days either in Effective Java or in Java Concurrency in practice.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#54

Post by kaliszad »

alok-g wrote: post #33
mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

Wow! Thanks for sharing. So do you change your toothbrush every quarter?

And the interdental brushes hopefully more often. Or, of course, you floss in that case you have a harder and more time consuming way of staying on top dental hygiene.

(Source: My fiance is a dental hygienist in Prague, Czechia specializing in periodontology and treatment of advanced periodontitis.)

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#56

Post by ok_dad »

Just use kanban. Put one backup toothpaste in a drawer and when you get it out add it to the shopping list right away. Works for anything non perishable which you can stock up on, like toilet paper or cleaning supplies.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#57

Post by quantified »

gumby wrote: post #40
mrob wrote: post #29

I use an even simpler and more reliable system to avoid running out of toothpaste: brushing with plain water. Evidence suggests that brushing with toothpaste (called "dentifrice" in scientific papers) does not remove any more plaque than brushing without it. Here's a systematic review from 2016: >Does dentifrice use help to remove plaque? A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27513809/ "The cumulative e…

The idea that a "minty fresh" mouth (or the idea that "mint" implies "fresh" at all) was the product of an ad campaign in the 1930s. It's not some sort of human universal.

It's way more fresh than lots of other scents.

Much human effort has been spent eliminating unpleasant odors.

Re: Toothpaste Null-Terminator

#58

Post by Terr_ »

I do this but for something I think is even more critical: Toilet paper! (Running fully out is much worse.)

The "last" roll of last resort is cheap 1-ply, and it serves as an unavoidable reminder to restock and replace it.

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