Back in 2018, in this piece, I recorded my satisfaction at the state of my children’s teeth, and my own. I have a wide selection of fillings (white at the front, amalgam at the back), and crowns on many of my molars. They regularly need some kind of treatment, but I had gone 30 months without any kind of dental work. Even better, neither of my children has ever had a filling in their adult teeth. I concluded that earlier piece with: “My children’s teeth have fared better than mine did at the same age. Long may it continue.”

I am happy to report that the good run has continued. Four check-ups later and the children, now aged 16 and 14, have yet to experience a dentist’s drill. The same goes for me since early 2016, although back in March one of the four white fillings in my upper incisors needed to be patched up. I was expecting a local anaesthetic and my first encounter with a drill for four years, but neither were necessary.

That appointment, on St Patrick’s Day, was just before the UK went into its first lockdown. Our most recent appointment, earlier this week, took place while England is, theoretically, back in lockdown, though people seem to be going about their business much as before. And how will the world look when our next check-ups are due? (For the record, that’s Wednesday 26 May 2021, at 4.30pm.)