Like a whole new me

Well, not really. But damn. This afternoon I took a half day off work and headed over to my dentist, the same one who I got my Invisalign through, for a little something I like to call HAVING MY GUMS LASERED OFF.

I think the technical term is “sculpted.” And the technique he used was called “scalloping.” But let’s be honest here: I sat shaking from novocaine in the dentist’s chair for 30 minutes smelling my gums burning off as he recreated my smile. And then I paid the receptionist a lot of money. When I think of how much money I have given this man in the last year, I feel a little dizzy. I’d say I should get a free hat or something, but he did cut me a great deal on the gum sculpting, so I’ll just keep quiet.

But this money feels so well spent. Ever since I was a kid I have been embarrassed about my teeth. They were crooked (I didn’t get braces when I was a kid), stubby (even Ian referred to them as “chicklet teeth”), and stained from antibiotics my mom took while she was pregnant with me.

This past year has been a year of reinvention for my teeth. I have six weeks left of my Invisalign treatment (bottoms only—the top is done!), and Dr. Jolly uncovered about half of my teeth from my gums. Eventually I will get my teeth bleached, but I think I will save that for next year. I need to calm down on the spending right now.

I’m not going to post any before/after pictures right now because my teeth look pretty scary—it will take a few days (or a few weeks depending on how my body heals) for the bloodiness and puffiness to go down, and for the brown spots where the laser cauterized the gums to slough off. I think I could make children cry right now, honestly. And I’m in a world of pain and am only blogging because I can’t sleep and needed something I could concentrate on to take my mind off the feeling that tiny bumblebees are stinging my gums. And maybe jamming ice picks in my head. Doesn’t tooth pain come in second to childbirth pain?

But I can’t wait to show you. When Dr. Jolly was done with his craft (because, seriously, this is fucking artistry) and held the mirror up for me to look, I almost cried. I have spent my entire life hiding my teeth. I would catch myself staring at other women’s teeth, envious of their long, straight, shiny and careless smiles.

I am a happy person. I love to laugh. And I hope that after my gums heal, I will find myself laughing like nobody’s watching much more often.

~ by Megan on July 24, 2008.