Mouth

Patricia Jessamy's mouth has taken her a long way, from the Mississippi cotton fields to the job of Baltimore's chief law enforcement officer.She started talking in sentences at 10 months old. "My mouth is going to make my living," she once told a teacher trying to hush her in class.In recent months her mouth has gotten her into trouble. As suspects in violent crimes were being set free because of trial delays, Baltimore cried out for a crime-busting prosecutor. Instead, it got a state's attorney defending her office, complaining about lack of money, losing her cool.

Think about this the next time someone in a white coat instructs you to "open wide." Your mouth is a window to your health.Diagnosis through the mouth goes way beyond scanning for redness or white patches on the tonsils -- the telltale traces of strep throat.An oral exam can reveal many more signposts to illness:* A dentist peering at tooth enamel can see evidence of bulimia, the eating and vomiting disorder that exposes teeth to erosive stomach acids.* A periodontist probing inflamed gums thinks about eradicating bone-gobbling plaque bacteria that are suspected contributors to heart attacks, stroke and possibly arthritis.

Q. I am desperate for a remedy for canker sores. My mouth is just full of them and they are so painful I am having trouble eating. My doctor prescribed Aphthasol, but it didn't help. My dentist has offered antibiotics and strong steroids, but nothing has worked.A. Physicians don't know what causes canker sores (aphthous ulcers), but a deficiency of folic acid, vitamin B-12 and iron may contribute. Prescription treatments are not always effective.We recently heard from D.W. in Garland, Texas, whose mother was a dental assistant in the 1930s.

In 1989, actor Daniel Day-Lewis was catapulted into the ranks of major film stars with his riveting performance as Christy Brown, the Irish artist who, afflicted with cerebral palsy since birth, nevertheless managed to become a highly regarded painter.The film, "My Left Foot," won Day-Lewis an Oscar and provided an inspirational account of one individual's determination to give full expression to his artistic soul despite an overwhelming physical handicap. The instrument of this expression, as the title implies, was his left foot.

NEW YORK -- It was a fairy-tale wedding. The sky was a glorious, sunny blue. Everything, from the radiant bride to the fabulous flowers, was perfect. Everything, that is, except the bridesmaid chomping away on a wad of gum."I was appalled," said Letitia Baldrige, the etiquette expert, who was a guest. "It was so incredibly rude. But the sad thing is that it was not shocking: all of a sudden gum chewing in public is so prevalent that it has become acceptable."Openly, brazenly, people are chewing gum. At work, gyms, restaurants and clubs, gum has become the big cigar of the season.

I WAS FEELING PRETTY good when I went to see Stanley. Stanley is my dentist. I chose him because he meets the American Dental Association's single most important criterion for selecting a dental-care professional: He looks exactly like Willie Nelson. If Stanley put on a headband and got on stage at a country-music concert, the audience members would absolutely believe that he was Willie Nelson, except that instead of telling them not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys, he would tell them to floss.

It's been more than two years since the bones were found, and Philip Marll still wonders who she is and why no one misses her.The Baltimore County homicide detective hasn't turned up many leads since workers stumbled across a skeleton and clothing in the woods near Falls Road south of Gunpowder Road. An autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Forensic investigation determined the bones to be those of a black female about 18 years old and approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall, who had been in the woods for at least two years.

That the Seattle SuperSonics fired George Karl wasn't surprise, considering the team's recent playoff failures. Yet, until a week ago Friday, the Sonics were talking about signing Karl to another contract.It appears it was Karl's mouth -- and not his inability to win -- that got him fired.Just before Karl was fired, the New York Post's Peter Vescey wrote a column that recounted a conversation between Karl and team president Wally Walker about contract talks that were about to begin. Walker had asked Karl specifically to keep the conversation under wraps, and felt betrayed.

Bill Allen was doing his student teaching in Ohio almost 30 years ago when a paper clip thrown by a pupil whizzed by his face.Then and there, Allen knew he was heading into the wrong career. He loved horses, so he gravitated into training at Midwestern tracks, but he wasn't very successful.So, the would-be teacher went straight to the horses' mouth. He became the "Tooth Man.""It was starvation that got me into this," said the genial Allen, while sipping coffee in the Laurel Park track kitchen.

On the videotape, Roberto Alomar is called out on strikes on a pitch appearing to be at least 112 feet outside the strike zone. And so begins the confrontation that is now described as one of the low moments in the history of baseball by those who need a slight sense of recollection.Alomar, hollering angrily from the Orioles' dugout, is thrown out of the game. He and manager Davey Johnson rush to home plate. The umpire, named Hirschbeck, moves his mouth into syllables approximating "Bleep you."

The Baltimore sports apparel company Under Armour is introducing a line of mouth gear that it says will not only protect the jaw from hits but will reduce stress to improve athletic performance. UA Performance Mouthwear was developed by Bite Tech Inc., a Minneapolis company that has researched mouth products for athletes. The mouthpiece is for noncontact sports such as baseball, running, golf and tennis, and costs $495. The mouthguard for football, hockey, lacrosse and other contact sports costs $450.

This season, Frank Walker had garnered more attention for his mouth - talking and otherwise - than his skills as a cornerback. Walker got a chance to demonstrate why the Ravens coveted him in the offseason as he led the defense with six solo tackles, forced a fumble and broke up two passes in the Ravens' 27-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium yesterday. "Whenever [defensive coordinator Rex Ryan] calls on me, I try to be ready," said Walker, who signed two-year, $3.5 million deal in March.

James Bennett hadn't seen a dentist in a decade. He had other priorities, like scoring heroin. Even if he'd been of a mind to do something about his rotting teeth, he wouldn't have known where to go or whom to call. Now, at long last, he sat in the blue exam chair in the Southwest Baltimore office of Dr. Larry Bank, a cramped space with a bucolic wallpaper scene of a waterfall. At 45, Bennett is trying to restart his life. That means getting a grip on his addiction through a residential rehab program - and fixing his ragged mess of a mouth.

Our dog, Moose, has many talents. He can dribble a half-cup of water from his mouth after just the briefest sip from his bowl. He can howl a very irritating high-pitched tone whenever anyone sings above middle C. He can sleep soundly for long periods. You may not have considered this last one a talent, but that only indicates that you are not yet eligible for membership in AARP. Still, the most unusual talent Moose has is an affinity for surreptitiously snatching items that are top-of-mind to a family member, and carrying them around in his mouth until he hears the "Drop it" command.

As debates featuring Richard M. Nixon and former presidential candidate Al Gore have shown, sometimes movements speak louder than words. Nearly every politician knows that body language can be nearly as important as the message itself. Crossed arms can be seen as a sign of aggression. Clasped hands can indicate humility. But what of the finger-to-the-mouth move? The index finger seems to play a key role for many in politics, from Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown to state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick - perhaps as the go-to gesture for the thinking legislator.

An increasing number of studies indicate that periodontal health - that of the gums and the bones and ligaments that support the teeth - is related to the body's overall well- being, including cardiovascular health. Some studies also have shown a relationship between a pregnant woman's periodontal health and premature birth. Although no one is claiming that there is a causal relationship between poor periodontal health and other systemic diseases, there is a great deal of research aimed at further defining these associations, says Harlan Shiau, assistant professor of periodontics at the University of Maryland Dental School.

WASHINGTON -- The Internet recently has introduced the world to two memorable individuals - mostly recognizable by their mouths - who vividly illustrate the striking cultural difference between East and West. One is best known as "Rage Boy," featured on several blogs and popularized by Christopher Hitchens in a recent column. Rage Boy is a Kashmiri protester - one of those perennials who show up for marches, funeral processions, wherever there's a crowd and, more important, a camera. In every captured image, he is, well, enraged.

Severance: Stories Robert Olen Butler Chronicle Books / 264 pages / $22.95 In Severance, we are privy to the streams of consciousness that 62 heads experience upon being cut from their bodies. It is believed that after decapitation the head remains conscious for 90 seconds; at a heightened state of emotion, humans speak at a rate of 160 words per minute. Thus, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler gives us exactly 240 words for each of his heads. They are as varied as Medusa, Anne Boleyn, John the Baptist, the dragon slain by St. George, a chicken on its way to a Sunday dinner in 1958 Alabama and even Butler himself ("writer, decapitated on the job, 2008")

Here's the dirty little secret no one tells you about getting braces: they hurt. I whined about this to my best friend of 19 years one day after a particularly brutal adjustment - those monthly appointments that used to be called "tightenings" - and her response was eye-opening. "Tanika," she said, "that's because we all got our braces 20 years ago, when we were supposed to. We don't remember the pain." And she was right. I should have gotten my braces years ago - at the normal age kids go through orthodontia - when I was skinny and awkward, with too much hair and forbidden to give my phone number to boys.

Good morning --Charlie Weis--No. 2 in the AP preseason poll is nice. Now let's see if you can poor-mouth your team as well as Lou Holtz used to do.