I’m Not a Biter…

I have had some major work done to my teeth, my two front teeth at that. It wasn’t a Hollywood vanity move. Many moons ago, I collided with a friend while playing basketball which left me with a hanging tooth. The dentist went all medieval on me and simply pushed the tooth back in. Years of training and he basically did what a concerned caveman would have done. The tooth was saved, well not so much saved as the inevitable removal was delayed. Years later I did have to have the tooth removed.

A root canal, crown, bone graft, gum graft, implant and veneer later and my pearly whites are up on their feet again. And I still have my trademark gap, streamlined for success. Somehow my dental plan classifies an implant as cosmetic work and doesn’t cover it. Having both your front teeth isn’t cosmetic, its mandatory. No one sees a person missing a front tooth and thinks…”Ahh, a Rhodes Scholar” No. When we see someone missing a front tooth we think…”There’s a guy who’s made some bad choices…Is he looking this way? I hope he doesn’t say hi…” As I wasn’t up for writing a whole new comedy set about being a toothless wonder, I had to shell out all the money for the aforementioned procedures.

Thousands of dollars later, and even though the doc says my two fronts are ready to rock, I still won’t bite down on things with them. So I bite into apples and pizza using my side teeth. I look like an alien who just assumed a human body but skipped the paragraph on chewing and I can’t just use the laser under my finger nail for fear of blowing my cover. I just hope my side teeth don’t get all Count Dracular-ree and fangy from all the extra usage. My friends have been surprisingly cool and most people won’t say anything about my odd eating…to my face. I do get way more food on my cheeks as a result of my unique eating style. But still, don’t call me sweet cheeks.