I have a fake tooth. When I was younger, one of my front teeth was smaller than the others, and a little misshapen, and the orthodontist we had in the Netherlands convinced my folks that we needed to pull it and use my braces to shift my teeth over to fill in the gap. When we moved to the US our new ortho said that was a terrible idea and shifted my teeth back to recreate the gap. We couldn't afford a permanent fix (and I'm really scared of getting an implant even if I could afford it) so I have a fake tooth that I wear on a retainer. Most people have no idea it's fake, no one ever asks what's up with my tooth, but to me it's noticeable and I'm really self conscious of it. There was a time my retainer got destroyed and I had to get a new one. It took three days and I would not go into work without it, so I had to work from home (thankfully I had an understanding boss at the time). I have been late to appointments and meetings because I ran out the door with so much on my mind that I forgot to put my retainer in, and upon realising it had to turn around and go home to get it. It took me a long time before my husband ever saw me without my retainer, and even then I was really embarrassed for a long time if he happened to see me without it in.
Someday I hope to conquer my lack of funding and my fear and get an implant as a permanent fix, but in the meantime, I continue to pray nothing happens to this retainer (at least until I get insurance again!) and that no one makes fun of my silly tooth... or lack thereof should they ever somehow see me without my retainer in!
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