Nail and Teeth Basics

A man’s hands and his smile are noticed before he has said a word.

This is not merely a matter of aesthetics, though aesthetics do enter into it. It is a matter of what your hands and teeth communicate about the care you take with yourself, and these small details speak with a clarity that no amount of fine clothing can override. Dirty nails suggest a man who does not look closely at himself; neglected teeth suggest one who has stopped caring what others see. Neither impression is one you wish to make.

Trim your nails once a week. Use proper nail clippers (not your teeth, not a pocket knife, and not, heaven help us, a pair of scissors that were designed for paper) and cut them straight across with a very slight curve at the edges. File any roughness. Clean beneath them daily. If you work with your hands, this applies doubly, for grime under the nails of a man who labours is expected, whereas grime under the nails of a man at dinner is not.

Toenails follow the same schedule but are cut straight across without the curve. Curved toenails ingrow; ingrown toenails become infected; infected toenails require medical attention. The chain of consequences begins with a lazy cut, and the prudent man avoids the chain entirely.

Brush your teeth twice a day for two full minutes. Time it, and you will discover that what you believed was two minutes was, in fact, thirty-five seconds. Use a fluoride toothpaste. Replace your toothbrush every three months, or when the bristles begin to splay, whichever comes first, for a worn toothbrush is not cleaning your teeth so much as performing upon them a gentle and entirely useless massage.

Floss once a day, and do so before brushing rather than after. The purpose of flossing is to dislodge what the brush cannot reach, and if you floss after brushing, the dislodged material remains in your mouth until the next brushing, which is not efficient but merely ritualistic.

See a dentist twice a year. This is not a suggestion calibrated to your schedule or your comfort with medical environments; it is a minimum standard, and one that admits of no negotiation. Teeth do not heal. What is lost is lost permanently, and prevention is not merely better than cure; in this case, it is the only option available to you.