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My First Visit to the Dentist | 6.12.01
I have to say that my teeth have not been the prettiest part of me. Growing up, I noticed that my teeth weren't as neat as the other kids' teeth. I didn't have an underbite or an overbite, but I had this big gap between my two front teeth and some smaller gaps on my bottom teeth. When kids at school in my elementary years began to show up with braces, I asked my mom if I could get them so my teeth would look nicer. She told me I was being silly and that we had no money for such cosmetic enhancements. Plus, I didn't have any cavities, so it wasn't as if I needed any sort of oral treatment. I continued to take good care of my teeth, always brushing them often and not eating too much sweets. However, my healthy teeth couldn't escape the fact that I had a gap in the front. I was often embarassed to show it and I tried not to let it show in school pictures. Kids would sometimes remark about it, and all I could tell them was that my teeth functioned well and that braces were not affordable to our family at the time. It hurt to see everyone else have nicely aligned teeth and pretty smiles and I hardly smiled in front of a mirror; I just gave some hardcore stares and tried to look tough. It wasn't until today, my last day as a high school senior, that I made my first trip to the dentist. I complained to my mother recently about pains in the wisdom tooth area. Unlike the past, when she would've told me to quit whining, my mother suggested that I go to a dentist. With our family business faring better and more money to spend, my mother swiftly made an appointment; she even told me to ask about any cosmentic enhancements that could be done to my gapped teeth. My first time in a dentist's office was partially intimidating and partially gladdening. I was finally where I had wanted to be as a little kid, believe it or not. The assistant told me to fill out some forms and when I returned them, asked why I had left the "last time of checkup" blank. I told her that this was my first time with a dentist. She led me to a small room where I sat in a pink, reclined seat with a paper bib on my chest. The assistant took x-rays of my teeth and made some various checks. The dentist was a young Korean guy whose kids my grandmother had looked after a few years ago. He was a mid-generation Korean like me who spoke some Korean but was more comfortable with English. I told him about my wisdom tooth problem and he told me the best way to resolve that was to remove it. Then I asked him some questions about my gaps; he told me that the bottom row was too tough to operate and that only a specialist could handle it; the top front teeth had two options: braces or grinding and adding on new pieces. The former would take up to three years with monthly checkups, and the latter would be expensive while making my front two teeth look huge. I had to sit in the chair and wait a bit as he went back out to finish a previous patient. Then he came back and we started. He first gave me a scaling and cleaned up the tartar buildup that had been neglected for many years. The scraping and cleansing hurt, but I felt a bit refreshed afterwards. Then he applied Novacane to my gums to numb me up for the wisdom tooth-pull. The pulling was relatively pain free and I was told to refrain from brushing my teeth and spitting for 24 hours. Overall, everything went well with the visit and because of my grandmother connection, I only had to pay $200 instead of the full $295. With the pain from the wisdom tooth gone, my mind wandered back to the gaps in my teeth. The options given to me were discouraging. They led me to believe that two rows of nice teeth were not worth the money and the hassle. Braces for at least two years in college? The risk of having enormous two front teeth? I assured myself that David Letterman and Laurence Fishbourne looked fine on television with their gapped teeth. I'm glad that people aren't judged entirely on their teeth - I'd be heavily discriminated because my teeth look different. Plus, my friend told me that she likes it better when I smile while showing my teeth. I guess as long as I'm personally okay with my teeth, I having nothing to worry about. I can easily say "cheese" and not worry at all. |
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