September 24th, 2005
Teeth sure are important, aren’t they? You don’t think about them much until there’s a problem, and then chances are you can’t get them off your mind until they’re fixed. And I should know… I’ve got the financial equivalent of a Honda Civic in my mouth.
My baby teeth were perfect, but we knew my second set wouldn’t be. During pregnancy, they gave my mom a drug to reduce her morning sickness. It was later pulled for causing birth defects, like babies born without limbs. Compared to that, I lucked out by missing only one and a half upper lateral secondary teeth.
Here I am today with a fairly perfect set of choppers, and nobody really knows the ordeal I went through. It began with numerous extractions because my adult teeth weren’t coming in on their own. Then six years of braces, with nothing but closed-mouthed smiles on record.
After that came bonding, which was a newer technology at the time. Later I got caps, but the old kind with metal underneath the porcelain. Those didn’t agree with my delicate system, so two years ago I had to do it all over again, and upgrade to lovely Empress ceramics.
Nobody who sees this smile knows what’s behind it. I could take you on a tour of dentists offices and show you the claw marks I dug into the armrests when the novocaine wore off. Months of my life were spent laying back in a dental chair with tears quietly streaming into my hair.
Though I never would have said so at the time… It was worth it.
Entry Filed under: Completely Girlie,Time Travel
6 Comments
1.
Master Foley | September 26th, 2005 at 6:27 am
Gee, and I bitch at my parents for not sending me an oral surgeon to have my wisdom teeth pulled.
2.
Crystal | September 26th, 2005 at 10:32 am
My mother managed to not need her wisdom teeth pulled until she was about 32. Of course, she was pregnant with my little sister at the time, and tried to deal with the pain of perpetually screaming teeth until the delivery date, because she couldn’t have the after-procedure pain killers/laughing gas/novacaine. About 6 months into her pregnancy, she got them pulled, without any sort of painkilling agents.
Whenever I wonder how she managed to survive putting up with two headstrong daughters born 8-years apart and hating each other with the passion of 10 fiery suns, I remember that she had teeth pulled the old-fashioned way; she can survive anything.
3.
Cube | September 26th, 2005 at 11:30 am
Me, I hate dentists. I guess that makes me an anti-dentite.
4.
The Bombshell | September 26th, 2005 at 11:32 am
Oh, don’t get me wrong… I’m no fan of dentists either. How on earth they can cause so much pain and sleep at night is beyond me.
5.
April | September 26th, 2005 at 2:06 pm
Wow! You went through all of that? Holy smokes! So awesome though that you are a survior.
6.
Atomic Bombshell » &hellip | October 11th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
[...] 6. Perfect Teeth – Mom & Dad made up for what the genes were lacking. [...]