back to white

Hi,
my adventure yesterday involved the dentist. I'm not a fan of the dentist. I like them, they are mostly very nice people, I just hate having anyone work in my mouth. It always hurts. I am blessed with my fathers good teeth and my mother beat proper dental hygiene into us at a young age. I haven't had a cavity in over 40 years, no root canals, not even a smidgen of gum disease and not a real need for braces (although my Aunt Gilda always commented on my over bite needing correcting, I've been able to live with it).

My teeth have changed through no fault of my own. Chemotherapy made them turn a dingy brown. I have had a front tooth that is discoloured since I was 5 (Richard Caplan pushed in on the playground ice and I fell, killing the tooth, I have yet to forgive him) but I didn't really care about it since it stayed in my mouth and never caused me any grief. The tint of my smile was looking unhealthy, and having a sad looking smile seemed liked a stupid oxymoron. I've been watching the movie stars and TV celebs get whiter and brighter teeth in the last few years, to the point where they practically glow they are so luminous, I figured I didn't have to go that white but they could be improved upon. I bought in.

Our dentist here offers a 'Zoom' system for whitening. I did what ever biased research you can on the internet about the system and  talked to her about the process. I also polled a few friends and stopped strangers on the street. David Letterman made a living asking people on the street stupid questions so why can't I? Okay, I didn't stop strangers but I did ask around. Seemed like I was the only person over 12 years old who hadn't had something done to their teeth. Time to get teeth-savvy beyond the tooth fairy. I dove right in.

I pent two hours in the dental chair yesterday with my mouth wrapped around a gizmo to hold my lips & tongue out of the way, cotton batten stuffed in every oral crevice visible and  then they start asking you questions... you know how this goes. Ugly. The dental technician painted a special bleach on my teeth then pointed a UV light into my mouth for 15 minutes while I was trapped listening to Regis & Kelly banter about drivel and giggle. Torturous. Not the procedure, the TV crap!

Once it was all over, and they repeat the bleach & light exposure 4 times so it takes about 1½ hours of sitting there while you go from Regis & Kelly to re-runs of The View, also painful. Not the whitening, the TV. After it was said and done I got teeth back that were almost 4 shades whiter than when I had started. I'm pleased with the results and the sensitivity of my teeth has returned to almost normal this morning. Next I am going to have the front 'dark' tooth have a veneer put over it and call it good. This was my "vanity over 50" move. Cheaper than a face lift or tummy tuck and less invasive than hair implants.

Worth every minute of Kelly Rippa hee-hawing.

xox
m