We all know that brushing our teeth is important. Our moms told us. Our dentists and hygienists tell us. Most of us know that brushing helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease and that it helps keep bad breath at bay (which might have something to do with making the world work better!). Furthermore, brushing has been increasingly linked to heart health, and I just found a website that makes the case for linking not brushing to respiratory disease, premature births, dementia, and erectile dysfunction. The article also says that brushing your teeth can help with weight loss as well as improve your sex life. From reading all of this I now know I should be brushing for two to three minutes each time. Somehow I missed that in the instructions!

This is all very well, but what does it have to do with helping the world work (except of course for the bad breath part)? Quite simply, our health, our personal health, helps the whole world to work better, not just our own corner of it. When we claim the responsibility of being part of the world, we see that by taking charge of our health we contribute monetarily and productively.

Monetarily, we contribute by not adding extra burdens to the healthcare system or straining our own resources or those of our families. Quite apart from the online scrambling caused by the Affordable Care Act, human resource people know that a healthy employee both saves the company money on insurance costs and is more productive. In fact last year the costs (not including medical insurance costs) of poor health and the resulting lost productivity cost employers between $225.8 and $344 billion.

When we are healthy we are more productive plus we free ourselves by having the energy to do what we’re called to do. We’re more fun to be around when we’re healthy. Can you see the spiral and the tags on this one? While many people have health concerns, even major health issues, it is how an individual deals with those problems that ultimately determines the affect on others.

So take brushing your teeth as a commitment to yourself. And remember while you’re brushing that a commitment to yourself actually benefits others.

You can’t help the world work if your body doesn’t work. Really.

What are the “little things” you do that would help the rest of us ensure our good health?

Medical review by Amy Ammer, hygienist, courtesy of Andrew J. Marck, DDS

Photo credits from the top:
Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day Day — @NonProfitOrgs
Costco electric toothbrush display — Spirit Moxie
Toothbrush3 — © Serna | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images
habits-toothbrush-1a–richardstep-unleash-your-strengths — Richard Sephenson