The Dentist

Well, most folks would say going to the dentist is not their idea of a fun way to celebrate their birthday - but since my celebration is a "Festival of The Peg" then all things are done during the festival days in celebration of my special day. I decided that since my six-month check-up was scheduled for January that it was because my dentist wanted to be able to have some quality time with me during the celebration. And it didn't hurt that I am on a multi-year streak of no cavities.

I view going to the dentist as an important investment in my teeth, not because I'm a "smile" model or work in a profession where good teeth is a must (although a good smile goes a long way when you are thanking people who have made a gift to help fund your organization) but because my parents invested a lot of time and money in ensuring I had the "perfect smile." You see, not only did I have the requisite braces during my teenage years but I also had two major surgeries to ensure that the work the braces were doing was a success.

In 1985 I had to have ten teeth removed before my orthodontist would put braces on my teeth - four wisdom teeth, two lower teeth, two upper baby teeth that never came out, and my two canine teeth that got impacted on the floor of my upper palate. That experience could be a blog in itself so keep a watch out for that story.

The second surgery took place in 1986 (summer before my senior year in high school) and was a temporomandibular joint and chin reconstruction. My doctor was named Dr. Rocklin D. Alling (he went by the name of Rocky and told me that when people asked what happened to me I could say "Some guy named Rocky broke my jaw." Funny, and very gifted, surgeon.) and his father Dr. Charles Alling. They worked together to fix my under-developed lower jaw and recessed chin. If you looked at me today you would never know that I underwent a really long surgery, two days of SICU, a few more days in the hospital and then six weeks of having my jaws wired shut. The only way you would know I had this surgery done was if you saw my dental x-rays or examined the inside of my mouth.

I still have a lot of fun explaining to dental hygienists about what happened to me. My dentist already knows the story and is used to seeing a bunch of wires in my jaw and chin on my dental x-rays but each time I get a new hygienist the fun begins again. This last trip to the dentist was no exception.

The hygienist came to the door to call me back and looked at me with what can only be described as "wide-eyed" surprise. As I settled into the chair she had the panoramic x-ray on the light box and started asking me about my dental history and if I was having any issues with my teeth. I told her all was good and just smiled at her. It wasn't until she had finished the cleaning process that I guess she got the nerve to ask me about the wires shown on the x-ray and the scars she had seen inside my mouth.

Usually I get asked if I had suffered severe/major facial injuries in a car wreck but this time I just got "What in the world happened to you?" After she had heard the story (I didn't even get to use the "Some guy named Rocky broke my jaw" line on her.) she asked if she could look at my scars again and confessed that when she first saw me she was surprised because she thought I would have some disfiguration in my face or something. I think she felt bad for admitting that because she then began to hook me up with what I prefer to call the "Festival of the Peg" load of toothpaste samples and some cool little gadgets to help floss my teeth and keep the teeth that are attached to my permanent lower retainer clean.

When the dentist came in to do the final check the hygienist started to tell the dentist about my wires/scars and she just looked at her, then at me, and said "Yeah, I know she went through a lot to get such pretty teeth. Glad she takes care of them."

At the end of the final check the dentist congratulated me for keeping the no cavity streak going and said that she would see me again in six months. So, happy "Festival of The Peg" to me - no cavities and I scored some great travel size toothpaste samples!