Everyone in my family has had their fair share of dental work. Both my parents have had fillings, my older brother had a snaggletooth, my little brother had a tooth gap, and I had braces. Now like any kid, I didn’t get my braces until I had most of my adult teeth and I had countless x-rays. Every x-ray was the same, I saw my current teeth and soon to come in adult teeth. Years pass I got braces; had x-rays, braces tightened, more x-rays, rinse and repeat. Each x-ray showed the same thing, all my teeth slowly straightened out until eventually they were fully straightened and I finally got my braces off. Everyone who has had braces knows exactly what I mean when I say I couldn’t stop feeling and touching my teeth those first few days when they came off. It felt soo weird! But in the best way possible.
More years pass and it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the orthodontist, actually, it’s been a long time since I’d been to the dentist, period. I didn’t avoid going on purpose or anything it’s just I was busy with school and work. This is why I thought it was kind of ironic that I got an unignorable toothache. At first, it wasn’t too bad nothing a simple Advil couldn’t fix, but soon enough it annoyed me into booking an appointment. The day of the appointment came and I told my dentist, Dr. Reed, about the pain to which he did the usual check-up. Nothing. He couldn’t find a single thing wrong with my tooth, no crack or chip or any signs of infection. So I had an x-ray. The x-ray showed my teeth, looking the same as they did all those years ago save for a new tooth right where my pain was.
“Ah, there’s the culprit! Looks like your wisdom teeth are coming in…strange though, I’ve never seen one grow there.” It was strange, really strange. Wisdom teeth were supposed to come in the back, but this one was closer to the front and it was…sharp looking? I pushed away those thoughts and booked my next appointment, next week on Friday, and went back home. The week leading up to that next appointment was murderous.
The pain had somehow spread, first to the nearby teeth then my whole mouth was aching. By the 2nd day, I solely consumed liquids. The meds that my dentist prescribed for me were finished within 4 days. By the 5th day, I cracked and called the front desk begging for Dr. Reed to see me as soon as possible. They gave in at the sound of my sobbing. I was to come in immediately.
“H-how…but that’s not possible.” as soon as I got in Dr. Reed took an x-ray of my mouth. It showed my permanent teeth just as they were, the wisdom tooth was closer to breaking through, along with 12 new other teeth just below the permanent ones. They looked sharp too. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for me during that appointment. He did not change his mind no matter how much I cried and begged, refusing to operate without time to prepare. He did however give me something for the pain so I could get through the weekend. I cried myself to sleep that night.
Saturday was absolute hell. I didn’t eat anything, not even the soup my mom brought over. Just opening my mouth caused me pain. I only drank water and those boost drinks not that I managed to keep it down. I never knew pain could make you nauseous. I spent the night passed out on the bathroom floor next to the toilet.
When I woke up I could still see the night sky and taste vomit, I even had some in my mouth. Groggily I got onto my feet. “Well, fuck…don’t I look like shit.” the bathroom mirror showed me my sweat matted hair, my bloodshot eyes with bags under them. Luckily I didn’t feel like how I looked, must be the meds.
I rinsed my mouth out with water a few times to get rid of the aftertaste and the little bits left in my mouth. By the third rinse, the aftertaste of vomit mostly faded and I brushed my teeth. The minty taste of toothpaste erased all traces of what happened earlier. I took my time brushing my teeth since it had been days since I’d last brushed them. The meds were a fucking godsend, maybe I could even have a decent meal rather than those boost drinks. God, I was starving, the mere thought of a fried egg on toast had me drool—what the hell?
A foamy red strand of droop dripped down into the bathroom sink. Mint mixed with the coppery taste of blood. My tongue brushed over small loose objects in my mouth. I spat out the toothpaste, blood, and tooth along with some gum tissue. I felt the hole where it came from feeling a tooth already taking its place. Sharp, like an animal’s. Gum peeled away as I continued tracing. Blood continued to fill my mouth, gum tissue broke and peeled away, more teeth came loose, and more teeth came in. The fact that I didn’t feel any pain made this all the more surreal, I thought I was dreaming, that the pain got to me in my dreams.
A slip of my finger proved me wrong. A sharp sting from my bleeding finger told me this was all real. I stood there continuing to rinse out the gum tissue and blood in my mouth. 28 teeth laid in my sink, molars, premolars, canines, and incisors. 46 teeth remained in my mouth, molars, premolars, canines, incisors each sharp and slightly curved, both the first and second row.