A DOG’S INTUITION: HOW BABU SAVED HER HUMAN FROM A TSUNAMI
The tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 was unimaginable; the natural disaster killed nearly 20,000 people in minutes. But amid the chaos, there was at least one tiny miracle: an 11-year-old Shih Tzu named Babu. Tami Akanuma, an 83-year-old woman living in the coastal city of Miyako, had her typical morning interrupted by a 9.0 earthquake that shook her house roughly 200 yards from the coast. When it stopped, she breathed a sigh of relief, but Babu became extremely agitated. The small dog began frantically pacing around the living room, moaning, and jumping at the door. Though it was early for Babu’s morning walk, Akanuma decided to appease her.
Akanuma did not dismiss the dog’s instincts. Babu tugged urgently at her leash, running as far as she could before turning to her owner. Akanuma said Babu seemed to be encouraging her to move faster, and the dog ran ahead every time Akanuma caught up. Akanuma later estimated they walked more than half a mile in a few minutes. Only moments after the duo finally reached the top of the hill, they watched an enormous wave wash over their home. The house was destroyed, but Akanuma and Babu escaped with their lives. How did Babu do it? People have long suspected that animals can predict natural disasters, but the truth is elusive. Scientists agree that animals aren’t psychic but disagree on whether something else might be at play. Some attribute the supposed phenomenon to the “psychological focusing effect,” or a human tendency to emphasize one detail in our memories while discarding others. But others point to dogs’ heightened senses of hearing and smell, suggesting animals may be able to detect small atmospheric changes that humans can’t. No matter the explanation, Akanuma credited her dog with saving her life, and the two gratefully celebrated Babu’s 12th birthday from an evacuation shelter only weeks later.
Sources differ on what happened next. Some say officials broadcast a tsunami warning, and Akanuma
realized she must evacuate, while others state she knew nothing of the impending disaster. But everyone agrees that Babu jumped into action. She instantly headed for a large hill near Akanuma’s home — the opposite
direction of the pair’s usual walk.
The Real Tooth: BUSTING THE MYTH ABOUT BACK TEETH REMOVAL MYTH: REMOVING BACK TEETH IS NOT A BIG DEAL. Fact: It’s complicated. When we see patients, especially younger patients, with a damaged back tooth, they often decide to have the tooth removed rather than repaired or restored because they don’t think removing a back tooth (a premolar or molar) is a big deal. After all, you cannot see these teeth when you smile, and people often value appearance over function. In the short term, removing a back tooth is not a major issue. However, in the long term, you can face serious consequences, including the need to remove more teeth, ongoing pain, and continued costs.
the “complete” side. This will require treatment to fix, which may include the removal of more teeth.
Drifting Once a tooth is removed, the adjacent teeth will try to close the gap because our teeth are always in dynamic movement and only stop moving when they meet with another tooth. This will cause a major collapse in your bite, which could be very hard to recover from over the years, and it can end up causing you to lose more teeth. We see older patients who have had several teeth removed because they overloaded their healthy teeth in their youth. It can be traced to the removal of that first tooth because they thought it wasn’t a big deal. In the end, a tooth removal can leave you with more problems than when you started, including a large bill. If you experience tooth decay or damage, it’s important to explore other options in order to save your existing teeth. Removing a tooth should be the last option.
When you have a back tooth removed, whether due to infection, damage, or severe overcrowding, you can create new problems.
Overloading When you are missing a tooth on one side of the mouth, you end up overloading the other side of the mouth. This puts extra strain on the jaw and teeth opposite of the removed tooth. Over a long period of time, you can wear down and damage teeth on
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