Microsoft will contest the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard merger with the US

Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission are set to square off over whether the United States would prevent the computer giant’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Microsoft responded formally to the FTC’s allegations that the $68.7 billion acquisition should be blocked on Thursday.

The software behemoth now appears to be on a collision path with American authorities emboldened by President Joe Biden’s drive to clamp tough on anti-competitive behavior after years of dodging the political criticism that has been aimed at big tech peers such as Amazon and Google.

The FTC asserts that by stifling rivals to Microsoft’s Xbox game system and its expanding Xbox Game Pass subscription business, the acquisition may violate antitrust rules.

Microsoft’s conflict with PlayStation-maker Sony over popular Activision Blizzard properties like the military action game Call of Duty is at the heart of the disagreement.

In its response to the FTC, Microsoft attempts to minimize the significance of Xbox, referring to it as the “third-place manufacturer of gaming consoles” after Sony and Nintendo and one of many publishers of well-known video games with “next to no presence in mobile gaming,” where it is attempting to gain ground.

Activision Blizzard criticized the FTC’s “unfounded presumption” that Microsoft would seek to keep Call of Duty off of platforms that compete with Xbox in its own answer to the FTC complaint, which was submitted on Thursday. According to Bobby Kotick, the CEO, the companies will succeed.

The disagreement may be a challenging test case for Lina Khan, the FTC chairperson chosen by Biden, who has worked to enhance antitrust law enforcement. Earlier in December, the FTC voted 3-1 to launch the complaint attempting to thwart the deal, with Khan voting in favor along with the other two Democratic commissioners and the lone Republican voting against.

The agreement is also being closely scrutinized in the United Kingdom and the European Union, where examinations won’t be finished until the following year.

The FTC’s complaint cites Microsoft’s acquisition of renowned game developer Bethesda Softworks and its parent firm ZeniMax in 2021 as an instance of the business restricting some upcoming game releases to the Xbox One even after promising European regulators it had no such plans.

Microsoft disputed the FTC’s description on Thursday, claiming that it had made it clear to European regulators that it will “approach exclusivity for future game titles on a case-by-case basis, which is exactly what it has done.”

According to the FTC’s lawsuit, successful franchises like Call of Duty are crucial because they create a fan base of devoted players who are attached to their preferred platform or streaming service.

The FTC lawsuit claims that if Microsoft had control over Activision’s material, it would have the power and enhanced motivation to withhold or degrade Activision’s content in ways that significantly reduce competition, including competition on product quality, price, and innovation. At a critical juncture for the business, “this loss of competition would probably cause severe harm to consumers in various markets.”

Microsoft gave the impression that it will forcefully defend its position in court with a team under the direction of renowned corporate lawyer Beth Wilkinson, while simultaneously leaving the door open for a settlement.

Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, said in a statement on Thursday that “even with confidence in our case, we remain dedicated to creative solutions with regulators that will safeguard competition, customers, and workers in the digital sector.” “The door never closes on the potential to negotiate a compromise that will benefit everyone,” we’ve learned from past litigation.

More than 20 years ago, after Microsoft engaged in anticompetitive behavior relating to its dominating Windows software, a federal judge ordered its dissolution, sparking Microsoft’s most significant antitrust dispute to date. On appeal, the decision was overturned, but the court also fined the corporation.

Instead of requesting an immediate federal court injunction to stop the merger, the FTC chose to send the complaint to its internal Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell, which may cause the case to be delayed at least until August, when the first evidence hearing is set. In accordance with their contract, Microsoft must pay Activision Blizzard a breakup fee of up to $3 billion if the transaction cannot be completed by July 18.

Depending on how the U.K. and European authorities rule on the merger next year, the date and course of the litigation may alter. Microsoft may attempt to speed up the legal procedure in the United States if it receives clearance in Europe.

This past week, a number of individual video game players filed a lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco seeking to halt the merger due to antitrust concerns.

The plaintiffs, who are all fans of the Call of Duty series from Activision Blizzard as well as other well-known games like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo, are especially worried about how the merger will affect future game quality, innovation, and output, according to their attorney Joseph Alioto.

Alioto asserted that when there is no competition, the quality inevitably suffers. “By getting rid of Activision, Microsoft is in such a powerful position that they can do whatever they want.”

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what does the future hold for psychedelic treatments

The use of psychedelics as potential treatments for specific mental health issues is on the rise, and some states may soon allow doctors to write prescriptions for them. Schools are stepping up their efforts to teach the therapists and practitioners who will administer psychedelics as clinical trials on them continue and legalization initiatives score victory after victory

Nowhere near as simple as picking up a prescription and taking a tablet at home is psychedelic therapy. In contrast, delivering psychedelics, such as psilocybin, the ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” among others, can take all day while the patient is under the continual observation of qualified professionals

Instructing those practitioners is a priority for Janis Phelps. She is a clinical psychologist who developed and currently oversees the California Institute of Integral Studies’ first-ever approved training program in psychedelic therapy. The San Francisco university, which started classes in 1968, provides instruction in psychology, counseling, spirituality, and eastern medicine.

Since 2016, the CIIS has trained about 800 students in its psychedelic program, according to Phelps. Additionally, as interest in psychedelics increases, more practitioners are looking for training. After enlarging to include a training center in Boston last year, the program’s size tripled, according to her.

In the following ten years, at least 8,000 newly qualified therapists will be required, according to Phelps.

We started educating people even before it was allowed to use, unless you were in a research study, because we realized we needed so many therapists educated and there are so few people on the earth who knew how to use this properly, according to Phelps.

A total of 150 hours of education and multiple in-person training sessions make up the psychedelic treatment curriculum. Numerous students hold medical, psychiatric, and therapeutic licenses. People in non-medical professions such as social workers, nutritionists, ordained clergy, and others are also able to apply.

The techniques utilized in the clinical trials for giving psychedelics and monitoring the participants—procedures that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration—are taught in universities, including CIIS, according to Phelps.

According to Dr. Anne St. Goar, a former primary care physician who was one of the first CIIS-accredited practitioners and currently oversees the Boston training site, students are also taught to support and validate emotions that arise during the experience rather than trying to direct the patient’s experience themselves. She claimed that, in contrast to talk therapy, patients are urged to process their thoughts silently while the therapist watches. The therapist will play a more active role when necessary or asked, engaging the patient in conversation, providing assurances, or consenting to holding their hand.

The federal government still forbids the use of psychedelics outside of clinical research, which is one drawback. This implies that CIIS students receive training on how to lead secure psychedelic sessions without having access to drugs.

In place of psychedelic drugs, CIIS students are instructed in a breathing technique known as “Holotropic Breathwork,” which was created by a psychiatrist in the 1970s. According to CIIS alumnus Dr. Yvan Beaussant, a palliative care physician at Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, “this involves music and breathing techniques as a means to induce a psychedelic-like state.” According to a 2018 review that appeared in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, breathing exercises may affect the brain’s sleep, meditation, and psychedelic-related brain network activity.

Graduates of CIIS will be able to apply to work in Oregon, the first state to authorize supervised psilocybin sessions, starting in January. Facilitators are required to finish an accredited training course, such as the one provided by CIIS, pass a test, and pay licensing fees. Future students will eventually use the state’s licensed centers as an experience learning environment.

According to Angela Allbee, the section manager of Oregon Psilocybin Services, the state hopes to “show that we can do this safely and truly help individuals with their healing and wellbeing — and encourage additional options for persons that are wanting a different option.”

Why then is there such a rise in interest in psychedelic drug use for mental health?

Since the 1950s, the federal government has regarded psychedelics as illegal narcotics with “no generally recognised medical purpose.” However, psychedelics drew the attention of the medical community in the 1950s. Some hallucinogens, according to early study, may improve empathy in therapeutic work and be useful in treating a number of difficult-to-treat mental health problems, including alcoholism.

The 1970s saw a hiatus in research as psychedelics gained a reputation as harmful recreational drugs. But in the late 2000s, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and New York University returned to exploring their medical potential, sparking a boom in psychedelic research.

Another psychedelic, psilocybin, has been used therapeutically in a number of other clinical studies. According to a new study from the NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine, two doses of psilocybin in conjunction with therapy helped persons with alcohol use disorders cut back on drinking for eight months. Another study discovered that psilocybin assisted cancer patients in feeling less anxious about their situation. By the end of the month, a significant clinical trial will start looking at whether psilocybin may treat depression when other methods have failed.

Switch on, tune in, or turn off?

Treatment with psychedelic substances is not for everyone and is not as straightforward as giving the patient a pill to take at home. Patients who use psychedelics may have severe sensory and visual disorientation as well as emotionally trying experiences.

According to six psychedelic-trained therapists who talked with NBC News, the “set and setting”—the patient’s attitude going into therapy and the environment they are in—play a significant role in how a trip develops. For this reason, during the medication session, patients lie down and put on headphones and eyewear in an area that is intended to resemble more like a comfortable den than a hospital room.

Eight-hour sessions with MDMA or psilocybin allow the patient to relive past experiences with the help of their therapists. In clinical trials, patients receive therapy sessions both before and after the medicine is administered to help them digest the event.

According to Beaussant, who is studying psilocybin’s potential to lessen end-of-life sorrow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the experience “strangely resonates in a very unique and significant way for most people.” Usually, people are better equipped to process trauma or loss and communicate psyche-related issues that feel unresolved.

Long journey ahead

As the largest psilocybin clinical research to date is scheduled to start this month, some states have made an effort to loosen limitations on this drug in particular. In 2020, Oregon voters will decide whether to legalize the controlled adult use of psilocybin. Colorado followed in November, becoming the second state to do so.

However, the FDA will be in charge of deciding a lot of the specifics, including how, which patients, and under what circumstances they can get psychedelic therapy.

According to Kevin Franciotti, a certified addiction counselor in Denver who has received training in the use of ketamine for psychotherapy off-label, the demand for psychedelic therapies is on the rise.

Because there may be a significant shortage of skilled practitioners outside of major cities, he continued, “Patients will initially be quite enthusiastic about this before becoming very disillusioned and frustrated.”

Franciotti endorsed Colorado’s proposal to legalize psilocybin, telling NBC News that it was an opportunity for the state to offer inhabitants alternative treatment alternatives and challenge federal drug laws.

Some mental health professionals are wondering how drug laws, which continue to render psychedelics illegal at the federal level, affect research in light of the increasing interest in psychedelics in medicine.

Due to federal prohibitions, according to Dr. Franklin King IV, an emergency psychiatrist and the head of training at the Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Massachusetts General Hospital, “there are a lot of psychedelics out there, but nobody is exploring them.” “The barriers are great, even for psilocybin, to study and obtain FDA approval for medications with insufficient safety data.”

Legalization is consistently the biggest barrier to psychedelic research, according to King, who also noted that it is frequently simpler to obtain financing for studies of other psychoactive drugs with well-established risks, such as opioids, than for psychedelic research. “While there is a big usefulness for them and a huge need for them, psychedelics won’t eliminate or replace all these other treatments we have.

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what does the future hold for psychedelic treatments

March 27, 2023

DIY dentistry ‘hacks’ on TikTok continue to gain popularity

March 27, 2023

The ‘Avatar’ sequel is in its second week at the top of the box office.

January 2, 2023

Esports are thought to be a tool to increase diversity in STEM fields.

When Kevin Fair was a young child, he would disassemble his Nintendo console, fix problems, and then put it back together. The Black entrepreneur claims that these experiences were “a life trajectory turning moment” when he discovered the entertainment system was more than a toy.

I believe that digital technology just honestly impressed me, he remarked.

Fair was inspired to learn how to code and repair computers by his love of video games. He founded the Chicago-based company I Play Games! in 2009 to introduce young people of color to a side of video gaming they might not have otherwise realized existed.

Schools and companies like Fair’s strive to prepare children for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at a time when the industries lack ethnic diversity by utilizing their interest for esports, or multiplayer competitive video games.

“These kids were born with digital devices in their hands, and if you give them access, the world is theirs,” said businesswoman and academic Jihan Johnston, who launched gaming-obsessed Beatbotics, a company that provides digital education.

Young gamers are diverse, despite industry inequity and representation problems. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center research, Black kids are slightly more likely than their peers to play video games, but White and Hispanic teens also play at about the same rates.

Pew reported last year that the percentages of Black and Hispanic workers in STEM fields in the United States was, respectively, 9% and 8%.

Johnston is redefining the discourse surrounding video games by advising communities of color on how esports may help their children find professions.

She asserted, “I believe that our community is unaware that this can lead to college.”

Information systems major Shemar Worthy, 21, is a senior at DePaul and is currently playing online. Claire Savage/AP Photo

In order to develop practical skills for the video game industry, DePaul University in Chicago introduced a new academic esports scholarship this academic year. According to Stephen Wilke, the school’s esports coordinator, nine out of the ten freshmen grantees are people of color.

One of the recipients of the $1,500 scholarship is Aramis Reyes, an 18-year-old computer science major with a specialty on game creation and development.

The young man in glasses identified himself as a recreational, non-competitive gamer. For Reyes, the potential for storytelling in video games is what makes them so magical. He declared, “I want to delve into so many design ideas.

According to Fair, the skills that gamers naturally acquire assist prepare them for a variety of vocations in IT, coding, statistics, software engineering, and other fields. Competent gamers analyze the data they see on their screens logically and think in frames per second. They are efficient in the modern workplace because they are proficient at typing.

He explained, “All of that is high-end math going in the person’s head right now.

Like Fair, Reyes became interested in coding because of video games.

Everything is so easily found if you know where to search. Reyes pointed to the 10-inch (25-centimeter) spine of a book on learning Python and said, “You know, I honestly went through a secondhand store and got one this thick.

According to Fair, companies like his will aid in closing the diversity gap. Given that testing shows the U.S. is falling behind other developed nations in STEM education, increasing diversity in STEM would promote pay equity, spur innovation, and help keep America competitive on a global level.

Research from the University of California, Irvine, backs up Fair’s approach: researchers working with the North America Scholastic Esports Federation discovered that school-affiliated clubs that use students’ esports interest in an academic setting helped them learn math and science, piqued their interest in STEM, and benefited students at low-income schools the most.

Building out diversity in both esports and STEM requires, according to Grace Collins, a teacher from the Cleveland region who in 2018 founded the first all-girls varsity high school esports team.

“I believe there are many parallels between the difficulties facing diversity in STEM and esports,” the author said. therefore resolving this issue in one location can contribute in their relief in the other,” Collins added.

Reyes, who is Hispanic and Latino, claimed that esports gives students of color a sense of belonging and is “definitely” a way to increase diversity in STEM. Reyes has observed that, despite the claims of civil rights activists that racist hate speech still exists online, the gaming community is largely receptive.

Lethrese Rosete, a sophomore, concurred and described DePaul’s esports group as “a very safe and friendly environment.”

Rosete, 20, is studying in user design experience to hone her coding abilities while also combining her creativity.

At the university’s Esports Gaming Center, Lethrese Rosete participates in an online game. Claire Savage/AP Photo

She brings up the president of Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment, who was fired following a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit citing a “frat boy” culture that became “a breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women,” as an example of how she is aware of inequality issues in STEM and video game design.

DePaul, according to Rosete, does not feel that way. All of us are simply here to learn, she remarked.

Rosete claimed that when the first-person shooter video game Valorant added a new Filipina character, she screamed and ran around in ecstasy.

The American-Filipina Rosete said, “I felt at ease.” “I thought my time had come for representation,”

However, video games alone won’t close the STEM diversity gap. It’s a structural issue that transcends esports, according to Wilke.

On the other hand, a lack of representation, online radicalism, and pricey equipment purchases might exacerbate inequality and reinforce prejudices.

Another issue is online safety. According to U.S. federal officials, Fortnite creator Epic Games will pay a total of $520 million to resolve allegations including methods used to lure gamers into making purchases and concerns about children’s privacy.

Fair advised parents to maintain a “good attentive check” on what their children are doing online. He declared, “There’s a lot of rubbish out there.”

Teenagers’ access to game consoles and computers vary according to their family’s income, and the Federal Reserve stated in 2021 that average Black and Hispanic households earn nearly half as much as average white households.

Despite surveys indicating an increase in developers of color, white men continue to dominate the game sector.

Fair stated that there is still much to be done to increase racial diversity in esports and STEM fields.

“I can raise a sizable number of kids who enjoy FIFA. But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they’ll want to become engineers, he added. “You have to attempt to sort of explicitly demonstrate how what they’re doing, the activity that they want to engage in, connects to something that they can make money in.”

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what does the future hold for psychedelic treatments

March 27, 2023

DIY dentistry ‘hacks’ on TikTok continue to gain popularity

March 27, 2023

The ‘Avatar’ sequel is in its second week at the top of the box office.

January 2, 2023

DIY dentistry ‘hacks’ on TikTok continue to gain popularity

Skylar Geiger grew up hearing other kids nickname her “SpongeBob” because of the gaps between her teeth.

“I’ve been told in real life and on social media that I was stunning until I smiled,” Geiger, who has 28,500 followers, said. She “hated” her grin because she was always comparing it to what she saw on the internet.

Her teeth had always been “quite healthy,” but they didn’t have the precisely aligned sparkling whites she desired. She went to YouTube to replace her teeth since she didn’t have dental insurance and couldn’t afford the out-of-pocket expenditure. She bought dental cement, which is generally used to fix cavities, and put it to her teeth using the back of an earring before her 19th birthday in 2020. She shared her experience on TikTok, joining hundreds of other popular dental “hacks” on the platform. Her video has received over 2 million views.

Geiger’s DIY attempt is not unusual; while she claims she did not irreparably harm her teeth, others have not been so fortunate. In recent years, TikTok has grown so widespread with dental DIY material that it has spawned a breed of dentist-influencers who have developed followings by responding to poor oral care. On the app, the hashtag #DIYdentist has received over 3 million views.

The polished quality of social media might heighten viewers’ fears, especially if they cannot afford dental care. TikTok and YouTube are flooded with lessons promising the ideal smile without the expensive cost of visiting a dentist without insurance. However, several professional dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons have raised worry about the growing popularity of dental DIY content. Online tutorials for dangerous physical modifications abound, and those involving teeth can cause irreversible harm. Because dental enamel does not renew, attempting to fulfill an impossible aesthetic standard might have long-term implications.

TikTok is particularly famous for its dental DIY content. Many films are pretty harmless, such as at-home teeth whitening “hacks” suitable for persons with sensitive teeth. From an artist who manufactured her own night guards to a designer who 3D-printed his own Invisalign, creators with technical expertise have talked about building their own dental gear. Other viral DIY procedures include shaving teeth with a nail file to make them seem straighter, putting office supply rubber bands around teeth to seal gaps, and removing braces with a spoon at home.

Composite veneer tutorials, which employ resin to cover and contour teeth, are also popular. TikTok users have reported attending two-day classes to learn how to install veneers, while having no previous official dental education.

Dr. Ben Winters, also known as The Bentist on TikTok and YouTube, said his instructional films reacting to dental DIY content have been a “amazing smash.”

Winters claims that not all dental DIY content is hazardous. Cosplayers who use denture wax to form vampire-like fangs, or persons who acquire temporary tooth jewels, are unlikely to experience long-term ill effects.

“Most of that stuff is fairly safe,” Winters added. “If you start utilizing dental-grade materials and try to replicate what the dentist does, you’ll start making permanent alterations to your teeth that you won’t be able to pop off.”

However, many dental DIY tutorials can cause considerable harm. Shaving down teeth to make them seem straighter or more proportional resurfaces frequently on YouTube and TikTok, yet few warn viewers of the discomfort and long-term dental complications that might result.

In reaction to a video showing someone using a nail file to trim their teeth, one TikTok member stated that she experienced so severe agony that she had to take medications “every two hours.” She eventually went to the dentist.

“As uncomfortable as it was, I felt compelled to tell her what I had done. ‘You’re an utter moron,’ she said. “You’ve definitely filed into your nerve,” stated the TikTok user in the video. “I was going to require a root canal. There were two processes. I had to come in twice.”

Teeth are organs with their own blood supply and intricate nerve systems, which “no one understands,” according to Winters. “You’re really putting yourself a deadline for how long that tooth can live” by removing the hard, protective enamel that covers the surface of a tooth.

Though research into therapies such as synthetic enamel and stem cell-based tooth restoration is promising, natural enamel will not regrow on its own.

That is why Winters is concerned that young people are having extensive cosmetic dental treatment done. He compares it to numerous other cosmetic operations that are reversible or impact bodily areas that may be healed.

“This is a long-term choice. “These teeth aren’t coming back, and you won’t be getting anything else,” Winters explained. “Lip filler is dissolvable. Botox is no longer used. You can get implants removed if you receive them. Once you change the form of your teeth, it’s gone for good.”

Cosmetic dentists generally prepare teeth for veneers by softly shaving the top layer of enamel. According to Dr. Desiree Yazdan, a restorative and cosmetic dentist, they are taught to maintain as much enamel as possible.

People that do it themselves or hire amateurs to run veneer companies out of their homes may not be as cautious.

Some people who stated they obtained veneers from unlicensed amateurs reported their veneers breaking off and getting foul breath, which one dentist on TikTok indicated might be caused by teeth rotting behind the veneer.

“And they literally whittle the tooth down to a nub all the way across and stick some glue on it, and they have no idea they have just damaged one of the most vital things in their body, which is their teeth,” Winters explained. “A lot of people don’t realize how crucial having teeth for your life is until they lose them all… if the shape of your teeth is nice and they’re just a little wonky, just go to an orthodontist and have them straightened.”

Yazdan, who also provides instructional video on TikTok, stated that while patients may desire veneers for aesthetic reasons, they are not for everyone.. Some people may wish to conceal a chipped tooth. Despite having “beautiful healthy teeth,” Yazdan claimed she’s had patients as young as 18 ask for veneers.

“They’re really lovely. It’s really depressing because they believe they’re not good enough,” Yazdan explained. “I believe there is a lot of pressure to appear beautiful and have the ideal smile.”

Many people, according to Yazdan, do not take dental care seriously.

“Nobody would ever say, ‘I’m going to get a home nose job kit, and I’m going to get this scalpel, and I’m going to watch this YouTube video on how to slice my nose open,'” Yazdan explained.

The physical appearance of a person may have an impact on their real-world performance in practically any sector. Despite some content makers’ efforts to challenge beauty norms, an influencer’s physical attractiveness does impact their engagement.

Brandon Andre, a musician, stated that his looks was critical for his professional chances. He tied rubber bands around his two front teeth every day for six weeks six years ago to close the space between them. He stated that money was not an issue. Because his teeth were “already straight,” he didn’t want to wait for Invisalign or braces. Andre, now 30, claimed it appeared to work.

“I narrowed my gap so I could get pretty privilege,” Andre said on Instagram. “When you have gorgeous privilege, what field wouldn’t a person have success in? And having the ideal grin not only made me look good, but it also helped me sing better.”

Andre went on to say that he can better regulate his breathing now that air isn’t escaping through the gap between his teeth. He now wears a retainer to prevent his teeth from separating.

“When I informed my dentist what I did, he raged at me and refused to place the permanent retainer,” Andre explained. He eventually went to another dentist, who he claims was “amused” by his DIY. In a TikTok video, he stated that the retainer cost $350, which was still cheaper than the cost of braces.

Yazdan pointed out that while doing your own dental treatment may save you money in the short term, it will almost certainly cost you more in the long run. Even if initiatives like Andre’s appear to be effective, they may inflict unnoticed damage.

“It’s simply so hazardous because they have no idea what they’re doing. “They may see a surface level of teeth being shifted, but they don’t see what’s going on behind the gums, bone, and tooth roots,” Yazdan explained. Without instruction, attempting to relocate teeth can result in shorter roots, loose teeth, and gum disease.

Many Americans continue to be unable to afford dental treatment. According to a 2022 poll performed by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a health care group, 77 million Americans lack dental insurance.

Many orthodontists, according to Winters, offer payment options to stretch out the expense of braces and other orthodontic treatments. Yazdan pointed out that dentistry schools often provide discounted care, and operations are always overseen by university staff. Both techniques are more expensive than a viral dental hack, but they pose less risk of destroying otherwise good teeth.

Geiger hasn’t tried to modify her teeth since. Dentists advised her in the comments section after she released her films that she risked dental decay and gum disease by hiding the spaces between her teeth. She tried wearing a flipper – a partial denture — after the dental cement slipped off after approximately a year, but it was too uncomfortable for daily usage. She’s made more of an effort to overcome her fears than to change her appearance.

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