No Chaser

Teeth

I am enjoying the irony of a compliment I received this morning on my teeth from a good friend of Nellicious who has taken to calling me "Chiclets."

 


People have certainly noticed that I have straight teeth, usually in the context of a who-had-braces conversation, but I have never had someone pick that out as a feature to be complimented ... until this morning.

I suppose I owe a debt of gratitude to the man responsible for my straight teeth. 

Dr. Harris was a curly-haired nutjob who specialized in pediatric dentistry.  His office had games, kids' magazines and books, and bubble gum flavored flouride treatments.  If you were good, you could choose a little toy at the end of each visit, two if you had suffered through an unusually long or difficult procedure.   He used goofy nicknames for patients, like "poo poo," which I hated, but he was very good at providing gentle and thoughtful care and keeping people out of braces, headgear, and similar torture devices when possible.

My parents paid Dr. Harris to close the gap in my front teeth and to push them back out a bit after the damage I inflicted with my thumbsucking.  They shelled out because I was a girl.  My brothers still have the gap, which I think is actually kind of cute on them.  But, anyway, it's one time I have been grateful to have received different treatment because of my gender.

So, now, the irony part. 

I very recently learned that I need to have a tooth extracted.  An old root canal, originally necessitated by my nocturnal teeth-grinding, has failed at the root.  It has to come out, and I have to get an implant tooth.  So, strangely, just when I was feeling like my teeth are a great weakness, I get a compliment suggesting my teeth are also an asset.

posted by: NoChaser at March 18, 2008 12:57 | link | comments |

Something of no substance

(as promised in my new year's blog resolution)

floccinaucinihilipilification

posted by: NoChaser at March 14, 2008 13:28 | link | comments |