Statistics That Raise More Questions Than They Answer

Why do you expect toothless people to use toothpaste?

See, you’re sharper than me, Bill. That was the last possibility I thought of – well after considering poor hygiene and the growing number of natural remedy advocates, who I suppose use baking soda or something instead. Do you think it’s as high as 7%? I must admit that the percentage of toothless people in the United States is a statistic that I never once thought about, until reading the toothpaste stat . . .

There are also some naturalistic people who use baking soda and stuff like that.

I was just wise cracking. My dad used to use tooth powder and swore by it for years. I do not suppose it is still available. We were rich kids (three of us shared one bedroom and we had an enclosed porch that served as a kitchen, dining room and otherwise was the entrance to our apartment) so we kids had toothpaste. I did have friends who were less well off and they used baking soda. I presume that more than toothlessness accounts for the remaining 7%.