New Teeth

I am 28 years old and I have never had a cavity. My mother taught me good oral hygien practices, but utlimately it comes down to good genetics since my sisters have had very few dental problems as well. The result is that I typically really enjoy going to the dentist. Every 6 months when I go in to visit Dr. Samuelson, he and his staff greet me warmly, ask me about my family, and tell me what beautiful teeth I have. Who wouldn't love a visit like that?

Not only are my teeth healthy, they are straight. I never had braces, just a retainer for a short time in Jr. High. So what could possibly have prompted me to have elected to spend 4 hours at the dentist office last week getting my 4 front teeth drilled to smitherines (or so it felt like)? Well, lucky me, I was the sole inheritor of my grandfathers signature gap between the front teeth. My dentist did what he could to bring those teeth together when I was young, but there was just no remedy. On top of that, some kid in kindergarten threw an empty bullet cartridge at my face and broke my front tooth which I have had to have repaired every few years since then, and which was again in need of repair. As a result, my front teeth needed an overhaul.

After discussing options with my dentist and husband, I decided to invest in veneers. It's not cheap, but if ever I'm in a position in life to afford them, it is now while we've got two incomes and no kids. Plus they'll last me 15 years, and I bet they'll have developed some great new dental techniques by the time I'm 45 and need to get them replaced. After preparing my teeth last week, the dentist gave me "temporary teeth" which is basically a lump of plastic attached to my teeth drilled to look like the new teeth. It feels bizarre, but I'm amazed at how good they look. I was really self-conscious at first, positive that everyone was as startled by my new appearance as I was, but after getting together with friends and then visiting my little sister last night and no one noticed a thing, I've calmed down a lot. The dentist was right that people would probably notice something was different but wouldn't be able to tell what.

I now have to wait until almost mid July for them to finish the process and permanently attach the veneers, but I am feeling pretty good about it. I just wish now that I would have done it before I got married so I'd have pretty teeth in my wedding pictures.