the final option: the teeth edition

i went to the dentist today. it was a birthday gift from my mom, to have my teeth cleaned. other moms bond over  trips to the salon or shopping; we gush over oral hygiene.

admittedly, i have not seen the dentist's office for quite awhile. more than two years, to be exact. when i was pregnant, i wanted to have my teeth cleaned, turns out you can't do that when you're pregnant.so it wasn't surprising that the dentist took one look at my teeth and promptly said, "i'd have to charge extra. this would require intensive cleaning."

as she was peering through, i asked her what was causing the pain at one part of my teeth. there were times that i would feel a jab of pain on the right upper-side incisor. i was told that it was badly damaged, something that might require a root canal or extraction. extraction? EXTRACTION?! my previous orthodontist stripped a part of my tooth to make room for adjustments when i had braces. now, because of that, that tooth had been exposed to decay and might get pulled out.

i was crying inside. i had worked so hard on my teeth. i had braces on for two years just to straighten them out. i brushed my teeth religiously, which is why i had never had tooth decay as a child. i circled the date on my calendar when i'm supposed to go back to have my teeth cleaned. i worked hard on my teeth and i'm proud of it.

and now, i was being told of my options. i was crying on the inside because i knew. i knew it would be the last straw. i would be on my way to being fug-ly, and i had just stepped into my thirties. i would be toothless, fat and uninteresting as a wallflower.

the sun would shine tomorrow. we would be setting aside some money for the x-ray so we would know the final option. i'm still hoping that an extraction and a root canal are not the only options.