An #Ode to the humble #Tooth

Hi all:

You’ll be wondering why I am writing a post about teeth. Well, it’s not one of my habitual topics. But thinking about it, unless you’re a dentist, it’s not one of anybody’s habitual topics. And it got me thinking…

But how did this start?

As some of you might know, a couple of Saturdays ago was my birthday. As I’d been here and there I didn’t really plan anything much, other than having a bit of a rest. Cue… my tooth. One of my teeth decided to make itself noticed. And it rained… Yes, fabulous all around.

It kept hurting but as I had an appointment booked with the dentist for the following week, I managed, and it did get better. I had mentioned this to a couple of friends, and with one of them (Hi, Martie!) I had even speculated on the possible reasons for this.

Last Friday, I visited the dentist, and Martie sent me a message asking me if my tooth was better. This was my reply:

It was but it has been bothering me after she’s been poking on it. It seems the root of the tooth with the crown is dying and it doesn’t want to go unnoticed. I have to go and have it killed.

She thought this was hilarious. This was my next comment:

Well, only thing they can do to be seen… Attention seeking behaviour, if you ask me…

So she suggested that I write a post about it, as that might make it stop hurting. And here it is. I had planned to ask for some advice on marketing, but hey, ho, there’s plenty of that. So here, my reflections on the humble tooth.

Yes, we all have them (hopefully, or did at some point). Yes, we need them. And although we don’t think much about them most of the time, we know it’s important to treat them well and look after them otherwise it can cause serious complications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_tooth

But when it boils down to it, the poor teeth don’t get a great press.

Apart from the tooth fairy, most people seem to have negative associations when it comes to teeth.

People might compliment you on your hair, your eyes, yes, your smile perhaps, but unless you’re a horse, usually teeth don’t come into it.

And if they do, you should be careful. Remember Little Red Riding Hood.

John_Everett_Millais_Red_Riding_Hood

And then we have the people who look after them, dentists. How many people are afraid of dentists? With the horrible things that exist in the world, why such fear of dentists? Most people bring to mind images of mediaeval torture when they think about dentists. (Sorry, I did look at images but decided against it. After all, imagination works probably better.)

So, poor tooth, you’re right to complain. Nobody is nice to you. Even those who look after you don’t use the nicest of methods. You deserve better. I’m sorry your root is dying. Sorry if it was my fault. Sorry if we’ll speed up your death, but we’ll try and be merciful. And I’ll look better after your friends.

And here, dedicated to you, a song:

‘Son Be a Dentist’ from The Little Shop of Horrors:

I hope that wasn’t too painful. Thanks for reading, and look after your teeth, friends, or they’ll complain! Like, share, comment… or bite!