Know whereof you speak, before you speak

[unixronin]

Or, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt."

"The New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell explains how good teeth go bad: 'People without health insurance have bad teeth because, if you're paying for everything out of your own pocket, going to the dentist for a checkup seems like a luxury.'  The British, of course, have socialized medicine, which we guess explains why they have such great teeth." --- James Taranto

I think he's trying (not very effectively) to be sarcastic there.  (The give-away being, of course, that he said something nice about socialized medicine.  In my experience, when Americans, particularly "conservative" ones, say nice things about socialized medicine, it's always meant to be sarcasm.)  Ironically, I should note for the record that I'm a British citizen, I'm currently 45 years old, and I have never in my life had a cavity.  Not one.  Stuff that up your attitude, James Taranto.

Comments

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

a large proportion of adult Americans I know have had to have their wisdom teeth removed

I wouldn't class that in the same category as fillings. Wisdom teeth are typically removed because there's just not room in the jaw for more teeth (largely, because existing teeth haven't fallen out).

I liked having my upper wisdom teeth. They straightened my top front teeth. But the oral surgeon said they must come out because by the time they finished coming in on their own they'd have ground my teeth together. :-/

The lower ones, aiiiiie! let my gums get infected and HURT. Which was why I went to the oral surgeon in the first place.