Keeping The Teeth
I am happy to say that I’ve been able to keep all my teeth thus far. I do have one crown, which I won’t count, since there is a bit of my original tooth under it. Holding on to my teeth has not been easy.
In my youth, my Uncle John was a dentist. This was like having a king in the family. I had a large Catholic family, more like a tribe in size. My uncle took care of all our teeth, a debt too large to ever pay back. He was very strict. I dreaded my regular visits, because he could tell the level of our dental hygiene with one glance at our x-rays.
Cavities meant we had been eating sweets. Also, we did not brush our teeth immediately afterwards. Flossing was its own discussion.
My uncle did not allow his children to eat sweets. I really couldn’t imagine a world without my beloved Double Bubble gum. It was sickly sweet, and cost one penny a piece. If I had a quarter, I’d buy twenty-five pieces of that gum and hide it from my sweet-greedy siblings. I could put three pieces of the barrel shaped gum in my mouth at once, suck the sugar out, and then blow giant pink bubbles that burst and covered my nose and lower face. Thus was the sophistication and ambition level of my youth.
My uncle would lecture me, as he filled yet another cavity, about the evils of chewing gum. I could not retort, as my numb mouth was not only speechless, but filled with metal utensils which would today look like torture implements. Thus, I was declared guilty as his dark eyes bored into mine, unable to come up with even a fake defense.
After college, I started having to face my own dental bills. I really appreciated my uncle then. I had no clue that dental work was so costly.
I had one friend who would start her day with a nice sugary cola. I was mortified. My uncle’s intonations played back to me as I sipped black coffee. I couldn’t afford cavities.
The years passed and many of my friends began to talk about root canals like they were somewhere one went on vacation. One friend said, “Every dentist in this town wants to do root canals! Every one of them gives the same recommendation.” I don’t think she realized it was probably because at a certain age our teeth age too. Root canals become common, like it or not.
My husband sent his sons a memo, stressing to them the importance of flossing their teeth, while they were still young. I told one of them that flossing could even help his heart. He acted like I’d made this tidbit up. I don’t think the sons recognized the wisdom of the advice. It’s hard to explain to young people how much fake teeth will cost when it isn’t in their direct horizon.
One of my sisters needed an implant, the kind you screw in. Well, her mouth bones were not strong enough. She had to endure a medical procedure that enabled the insertion of the metal receptor of the screw. May I share with you that this cost a bloody (no pun intended) fortune. She shared the pathetic tale with me, and I ran to floss my teeth for the fourth time that day.
Recently I went to the dentist, a bit cocky I must admit. All that brushing and flossing would surely impress. Wrong! The hygienist called the dentist in, and they stood looking at my x-ray with shared pity.
“The grinding!” lamented the hygienist.
“Oh my! The clenching. So evident. So much clenching and grinding” intoned the dentist.
“Do you have a mouthguard?” asked the hygienist.
“I have one in a case at home. I’ve not been using it.” I sounded pathetically ignorant, even to myself. “I thought I had quit grinding.” This was the best I could come up with.
Now I dutifully clean my mouthguard, right along with all my dental hygiene. The next time I go to the dentist I will flash my natural teeth to everyone in the front office. I am determined to get praise for these pearly whites, right before someone recommends that it may be time for a tooth replacement.
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