Dear Heloise: As with most parents, mine ingrained in me the need to brush my teeth regularly. In spite of doing this twice a day, I still ended up with cavities. My dentist always encouraged me to floss, but even after I started doing this, I still had cavities.

After some recent dental work, my dentist recommended using a water flosser. I finally bought one and started using it. I was absolutely amazed that even after brushing and flossing, the water flosser still removed small pieces of food that were lodged in my teeth. I now use my water flosser after every meal.

If your readers try a flosser just once, I am certain that they will be surprised at how much food the flosser removes, and they, too, can add this in to their daily dental routine. — J., in Montana

“BITE NO MORE” NAIL ­POLISH

Dear Heloise: A much easier solution to cure nail-biting is to go online and search “bite no more nail polish.” There are dozens to choose from.

My husband had the nail-biting problem early on in our marriage (45 years ago). It took him just two or three coats of the polish, and he stopped biting his nails and never started again.

In fact, I still have the bottle, and it’s still good if anyone in the family ever needed it. — R.C., in Texas

SLOPPY DELIVERY ­SERVICE

Dear Heloise: Once again, my delivery from an online company was dropped off at my neighbor’s address. I was home, so there was no reason for the delivery person to do anything except place it on my doorstep. Several of my neighbors have complained about the sloppy manner in which we have received our packages recently.

It’s bad enough if one company messes up, but it’s several delivery companies at this point. Even when we order dinner from a local restaurant, it’s not uncommon for it to go astray.

During the Christmas season, it was terrible! I ordered three boxes of candy from a well-known store and never got them. I called the store, who put me in contact with their delivery service, and they acted as though they didn’t care. I called the store back and told them I wanted to replace the boxes of candy because they were to be given out as gifts.

They didn’t charge me a second time, but the driver threw the box on the porch like it was a football. Needless to say, I won’t be ordering from that store again. I wonder how many other people get as angry as I do over sloppy service and decide to go someplace else for goods and services.

Online shopping is very convenient — and there are many places for us to shop online — so I would have thought that stores would be more concerned about the way their items are delivered. At a large Christmas party I went to, a number of people complained about how bad deliveries have gotten. I know there are some delivery service companies that try to do their best, but these companies just don’t seem to be in my neighborhood. — J.W., in North Carolina

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Hints from Heloise run occasionally in Lifestyles. Readers may send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE, or email: Heloise@Heloise.com. Letters won’t be answered personally.