JUJU BEANS, DOTS, AND GUMMY BEARS

The dentists' best friends. I could add Bonomo taffy to the list. I pulled out more than one filling on that vanilla treat

Candy apples are another good source as are caramels in general. Bubble gum, too, perhaps because of its stickiness opposed to Dentyne or other gum. At least my Mom must have thought so, because she discouraged my youthful bubble gum chewing. And what was I to do as a budding major league baseball prospect who never had an desire to chew tobacco, the only other thing they ever put in their mouths. Dentyne? C'mon, Mom.

So what pulls out fillings now for me? Nothing. I just knock off a corner of one of my teeth and voila, a crown is the answer. Or a root canal. I've had two of those in the past calendar year. I don't know what causes a tooth to die, probably some good food I ate as a kid.

Like tootsie rolls or all that ice I used to chomp. But if I had to guess, it would be the Double Bubble bubble gum. I was sneaky about it, you know.