One of the often-unspoken joys ofHIV isOHL -- oral hairyleukoplakia. It’s a condition of the mouth that makes your tongue feel like it’s wearing a dress -- an ugly, old one -- and you actually can see the layers of whitish growths back there. It causes bad breath, too. We girls have to think about these things, you know! In addition to taking themeds my doc prescribed, I’d been using a washcloth to clean the crud off my tongue, but it was rough going. Even more awkward was using a toothbrush to lick the problem. Then I saw this gorgeous blond dentist on cable talking about tooth-and-mouth things, and she exhorted her audience about The Tongue Scraper. The next day I was in a health-food store and saw one on sale for about five bucks. For a while, I was rinsing my mouth with diluted hydrogen peroxide after using the scraper, but my dentist told me that can corrode tooth enamel. So now I’m using my favorite mouthwash. This scrape ’n’ rinse action keeps my tongue clean and ready for whatever life (or love) has in store. 

—Mark Adams, Atlanta