Back by popular demand!! Okay...so only one person demanded...but still. My dear cousin is keeping me in line (Las, I believe this is shout-out number TWO on the blog!) and demanded some more entertainment. I made my weekly to-do list yesterday and "blog" was one of my to-dos. What is this world coming to?!
Anyways...I went to the dentist today. Can I just tell you that I absolutely LOVE going to the dentist. This seems weird because I CANNOT stand when people slide their teeth on their forks...even the thought of metal on teeth is making me cringe right this second. I have the chills the entire time I'm getting my plaque scraped off...and I'm usually sore after from being so tense the whole time. BUT, I love clean teeth. So so much. Clean white teeth are perhaps one of my favorite things.
Perhaps I have become obsessed with teeth in general because of my horrifying history with orthodontics. Let's go through my timeline of teeth misery and you will see why I now care so much about my teeth.
It all started in the fourth grade. I had lost all my front teeth through the prior years and most of my permanent teeth had come in...but turns out my bottom left middle tooth didn't want to grow in. So...I was bottom left middle toothless for a few years. Now that seems very sad, I know. Is it more sad than the fact that one of my top front teeth had grown in completely sideways? I'm talking perpendicular to my other teeth. I'm not sure whether my top or my bottom situation was worse.
So 5th grade brought the days of the retainer (dun dun dunnn). I was in a retainer for a short time and then got braces on my front teeth. Luckily my front tooth turned fairly quickly and most of my teeth were facing the right direction. I also got several teeth pulled, and then had a chain glued on my tooth that wouldn't come in (the chain was glued to my tooth under the gums and then attached to my braces to that it would be pulled up). With all of this work done, I now had a bottom left middle tooth. Well after that year, we moved to Idaho. I got my braces taken off in Utah so that I could start new with a new orthodontist in Idaho.
I went through sixth and seventh grade without any orthodontic appliance (thank heavens...I was awkward enough)...but in my eighth grade year, the nightmare started. I went to get braces back on and the orthodontist decided I needed...wait for it...an EXPANDER! Yep, the good old expander on the roof of the mouth that you crank every day to create more space. It was sooo embarrassing. Let me share an experience with you that will illustrate why this was such a nightmare: I was an 8th grader (that's a nightmare in itself) and I was sitting in Ms. Faude's History class (another nightmare considering this lady was like 70 and had long gray hair like a witch would have). I had had my expander on for some time and the gap between my front teeth had been obvious for quite awhile. Well good old Ms. Faude came up to me in the middle of class and said "Wow Maren...have you always had that gap between your front teeth? You could practically fit a finder through there!". I. Was. Mortified. The whole classroom heard her. I mean, obviously everyone could see that...but the fact that she said it out loud was horrifying. Poor me.
Luckily after a few months of embarrassment, I got braces back on. I wore braces from 8th grade through my sophomore year of high school. About 2 1/2 years. Ever since I got my braces off I have been obsessed with straight, clean, shiny, white teeth. It is one of the first things I notice about people. I'm very put off by crooked, yellow teeth. It gives me flashbacks. Horrible flashbacks.
So this is why I love the dentist. I love knowing that my mouth mess days are over. I love having all my teeth. I love that my teeth all face the same direction. I love it all. Thank you orthodontics. Thank you dentistry. Thanks Mom and Dad for paying for it all. If it weren't for these things, I'd still be sporting the closed-lip smile in all my pictures. Classic...but not cute.
"I HAD A TOOTH UP HERE!"
ReplyDeleteHey! I found your blog by reading a comment on lloyd's. I like your writing style.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet someone else that hates the tooth and fork sound. I freak out. Do you about die when you accidentally scrape your fork on your teeth? I cam
literally feel it for days. Ugh.
i love you!!! funny story, i had many of the same procedures on my teeth (palette expander, bracket chain, retainer, braces..) only i was 21 when it started. i had horrible, crooked BABY teeth until i was in college and the braces didn't come off until AFTER graduation! to say i feel your pain would be an understatement. on a happier note, i also love going to the dentist and having clean teeth is the best feeling :)
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