This is so courageous and heart-breaking. It’s unimaginable, and yet, I do recall that when I was a child I had horribly crooked teeth. A mouthful of way too many teeth that jutted out of my lips. I look at photos of myself when I was four, five and six and can’t believe my eyes. I don’t recall ever being bullied about it, though. Perhaps at that time, the early 1960’s, kids didn’t do that? I’m not sure.
I do know that starting in first grade, at six years old, the orthodonture (sp?) began, first with a lot of pulled teeth, then a night guard, and a head cap, and then braces, and another night guard, all the way through high school, etc. My Mother said to be proud of all of it because one day it would make me “feel beautiful.”
While I have never felt beautiful, not even for one moment in my life ~ not even on my wedding day, sadly (which my Mother, coincidentally, ruined for me by stating, out loud, “Christ, for once can’t you at least wear a little lipstick?”) ~ I have always been thankful that I had “good teeth,” and at 63, I still do. I definitely notice other people’s teeth, and while I don’t pass judgment on them, I most certainly feel sad when their mouth is a “mess” with cavities and missing teeth.
In fact, I just thought of something: I have 14 dogs and a pet sitter who is 60 and has been with me for 12 or 13 years. At one point during our (ongoing) relationship, she traded dog sitting duties with me in exchange for me paying her dental bills directly to her dentist, and it lasted more than a year. During that time I recall she had at least six teeth pulled and a root canal, and probably more. I do remember she was in so much pain, I would’ve paid the bill anyhow.
I would like to strongly, strongly encourage you to look into corrective measures for your teeth, whether it is straightening or caps or better dentures … whatever it takes and however much it ends up costing to get it fixed. I know someone in my immediate family who spent $50,000 twenty years ago to completely correct her mouth and teeth, and it took ten years to pay off that bill, but she would be the first to say: it was worth every dime. This is a serious situation for you, one that you can undoubtedly fix with professional help, and I believe it is so huge, it will change your life. Don’t wait!
