Those of you who have attended smart dinners will recall that it is customary to end the meal with cheese and biscuits. It is unusual, however, for anyone to enquiry why they are eating cheese at this time.
The answer seems to be that in the west there is well established custom of eating cheese at the end of the meal in order to clean the teeth from the small bits of food that have accumulated there. You could describe it as flossing without string. In former times, chewing gum and cheese were important ways of helping your teeth survive in times before effective tooth paste, brushes and other devices.
As I enjoy the taste of Double Gloucester and Red Leicester cheeses, I now try to eat them at least once a day, at the end of the meal, as a cheap way of looking after my teeth.
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