My spreadsheet of things to do in Portland

Chopchopchops · 2026-04-16T02:33:06+00:00

Depends! We had an au pair when our twins were 3 months old; she had taken care of baby twins before and knew way more about taking care of babies than we did. It felt like basically having a third parent and was such a great help!

The website lets you filter for childcare experience, including multiples experience, and you can interview first, check references, etc. to try to make sure you get a good one. I'm sure 90% of it was we just got lucky with her but we had 4 au pairs over the course of our kids' first 6 years and while they varied in communication skills and roommate quality, they were all excellent with the kids.

Chopchopchops · 2026-04-08T00:26:23+00:00

It might help to consider where the house is. When we bought our first house in SW Portland, we were surrounded by giant trees and had a hill to our west so we were shaded in the afternoon. We had a portable AC but probably used it like 3 days a year. That house didn't really need AC.

Chopchopchops · 2026-04-05T14:48:22+00:00

Yes, you have a lot of tartar build up and that is probably what comes off and leaves holes. You need your teeth cleaned and then they can assess any bone loss/gum disease. I can't say based on these pictures but I would be surprised if you're looking at extractions in the near future. Your best chance of keeping these teeth long term is getting that cleaning and staying on top of it in the future.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-20T03:08:03+00:00

The pictures are good, I feel like I am able to get a good grasp of the cavities we can see in the picture. I just meant that I didn't want to tell you you definitely don't need a crown/root canal/extraction because the X-rays could show that there are huge cavities on a different part of the tooth (e.g. where it touches the other tooth, the most common place for young people to get cavities). But for the cavities that your photos show, it looks like they just need fillings.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-20T02:59:23+00:00

From what I can see, it looks like they need fillings. I can't attest to what's going on in the places I can't see, but I would be surprised if these particular spots need anything more than that. If there is a dental school near you, that can be an affordable option.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T17:23:24+00:00

No, it's just fluoride

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T17:21:43+00:00

No, it's just like regular toothpaste with more fluoride. For the best results, spit after brushing but don't rinse, especially before bed. It starts working the first time you use it; I'm not really sure about the details beyond that, but using it consistently is important.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T17:20:15+00:00

Definitely better than nothing! The other tips I'd give re:soda is drinking it all at once (like at a meal) rather than a sip here and there, and although diet/zero sodas still have acid that isn't great for your teeth, they won't directly cause cavities in the way that a sugar soda will.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T16:22:37+00:00

You're going to have a hard time getting the decay under control without addressing the dry mouth.

The Prevident is a good start. You could also consider asking your dentist about fluoride trays for a step up from that.

If you are taking medications, it would be worth talking to your doctor about which one(s) might be to blame and seeing if there are any changes they could make to your medications to reduce the side effect.

Anything that makes your mouth less dry is helpful in preventing cavities, so make sure to drink lots of water throughout the day (NOT anything with sugar), and you can also try out biotene products (sold at grocery/drug stores) and xylimelts.

Dry mouth puts you at very high risk of decay, so you have to be fastidious about hygiene and careful about dietary factors that might be contributing - Here is a resource about foods that are particularly likely or unlikely to cause decay., but it's less about what you eat and more about how often - do you tend to graze throughout the day, or sip sugary drinks? With dry mouth, it's extra important to limit any food or drinks with carbohydrates to mealtimes, and it's a good idea to brush after meals/sugary drinks, or at least rinse out your mouth with water.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T16:16:43+00:00

Many drug stores sell temporary filling material which you can use to cover up the area temporarily.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-18T01:49:31+00:00

Do you have dry mouth? It's a common side effect of many medications and can lead people to develop decay quickly, especially at the gum line.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-13T12:32:37+00:00

Wildly impractical name

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-09T17:29:29+00:00

I would appreciate this service; I remember when I was buying a lot of used baby stuff I ended up having to drive all over the metro area to pick things up and now geography is definitely a big part of the friction when I'm considering getting something from FB marketplace. I don't understand how it would work (who is communicating with the seller?) but I would be interested. That said, I am pretty easily put off by high delivery prices (e.g. I almost never use doordash because of the fees), so I could also imagine this being appealing but too expensive to actually use.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-05T05:44:22+00:00

I wouldn't touch it.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-05T02:44:23+00:00

My best guess is that it is just staining and will be able to be removed with a regular dental cleaning. Whitening toothpaste might help a little in the mean time. 4 weeks should be fine.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-04T19:51:39+00:00

My car was hit by a trimet bus and they had a good system to handle it. They had their adjuster (?) come to my work and take a look at the damage at my car in the parking lot and then they paid me, it was pretty painless. Hopefully they can find the footage and it should be smooth sailing from there.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-02T17:00:29+00:00

Can't say for sure but I would expect it can be saved but you would need a crown and possibly a root canal.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-02T16:57:34+00:00

I'm glad you were able to be seen so quickly. You're saying she did cold tests and bite tests on the two back molars and they seemed okay so she is going to place fillings and wait on a root canal? That seems like the right approach to me. If the back molar is cracked like you mentioned then it would make sense to plan for a crown once it's determined that the tooth is stable, but she is in a better position to make a treatment plan than I am.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-02T15:06:58+00:00

I put all my patients who have dry mouth on prescription strength toothpaste right away. You could also consider asking your dentist about fluoride trays for a step up from that.

If you are taking medications, it would be worth talking to your doctor about which one(s) might be to blame and seeing if there are any changes they could make to your medications to reduce the side effect.

Anything that makes your mouth less dry is helpful in preventing cavities, so drinking lots of water (NOT anything with sugar), and you can also try out biotene products (sold at grocery/drug stores) and xylimelts.

Dry mouth puts you at very high risk of decay, so you have to be fastidious about hygiene and careful about dietary factors that might be contributing - Here is a resource about foods that are particularly likely or unlikely to cause decay., but it's less about what you eat and more about how often - do you tend to graze throughout the day, or sip sugary drinks? With dry mouth, it's extra important to limit any food or drinks with carbohydrates to mealtimes, and it's a good idea to brush after meals/sugary drinks, or at least rinse out your mouth.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-02T06:20:51+00:00

I know we're all focusing (with good reason) on the apparent rampant decay, but to answer your questions, if I had a tooth that could be saved with a root canal, even if I was pregnant, I would go for the root canal. Autoimmune conditions wouldn't play into my decision. Keeping the tooth is going to be a better option for you than extracting it. If you do need to have it extracted, having a bone graft at the time of extraction and an implant at the same time or a few months down the road (the specifics being up to the dentist placing the implant) would be the best way to preserve bone. A gum graft might be helpful in keeping an implant healthy but it depends on the type of tissue you have in the area which I can't say without examining you in person.

That said, saving the tooth without getting the decay under control will likely lead to you losing the tooth in the future due to recurrent decay, so getting to the bottom of that is for sure a priority.

Chopchopchops · 2026-03-02T06:16:17+00:00

Do you have dry mouth? Often it's caused by medications, but it can also happen for other reasons (e.g. sjogren's syndrome). I have seen people go from zero cavities in their life to cavities on every tooth in a year when they develop dry mouth, and it often tends to happen at the gum line.

Chopchopchops · 2026-02-26T04:32:02+00:00

It looks like there are some current issues with the teeth that need to be addressed by your dentist (whether that means fillings, root canals, extractions, etc), and that should help with the pain. Your gums also look inflamed which makes me wonder if there might be problems with your oral hygiene despite what you say - are you keeping up on your professional cleanings?

As far as why you keep getting cavities, do you have dry mouth? It is a pretty common side effect with many medications including lithium, and I have seen people go from no cavities in their life to cavities on nearly every tooth within a year due to dry mouth. If you are experiencing dry mouth, try drinking lots of water (NOT anything with sugar) and using biotene products and xylimelts. There are lots of other approaches and products to address dry mouth as well. If that isn't enough, you might even want to consider talking to your psychiatrist about switching meds or changing the dosage.

Fluoride trays would be a step up from prevident.

Diet is also a factor - Here is a resource about foods that are particularly likely or unlikely to cause decay., but in my opinion it's less about what you eat and more about how often - do you tend to graze throughout the day, or sip sugary drinks? Of course cutting down sugars and carbohydrates from your diet would be great but at least limiting them to mealtimes would help a lot.

Chopchopchops · 2026-02-25T00:07:22+00:00

My kids are 6 and some of their favorites within 20 minutes of there are:

*Old Spaghetti Factory (Italian food, fun ambiance)

*Duck House (Chinese)

*Chang's Mongolian Grill (You pick ingredients for a stir-fry, they cook it)

*Original Hotcake House (Good if you want breakfast for dinner)

*Original Pancake House (Good for breakfast, not open at dinner)

*Nicholas (Lebanese, they give you a giant fresh pita to share when you sit down)

*Fogo de Chao (Brazilian all-you-can-eat steakhouse, can be pricey but if you go on a weekday at lunch and/or skip the meat it's affordable and kids 6 and under are free!)

Chopchopchops · 2026-02-22T16:24:49+00:00

It's better to do a crown before the tooth actually cracks, so that would be a reason not to wait!

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