Sunday, 12 June 2016

Skating Rinks On My Teeth

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A Sunday post about my Dad, named after a song that he loved.

It was usually my dad that took me to the dentist, which was in Cambridge. We never switched it to a Paris one, I don’t know why. It was a long drive and we always went in the morning for the first appointment. I now automatically book the 8am slot for all my cleanings and dental work because I am so used to that being the norm. We then got dropped off at school and my Dad would go to work.

I remember at some point I went to get sealants put into my molars. The sealants were described to me as ‘skating rinks’ filling in the deep holes so that it would be easier to keep my teeth clean. Since this type of dental work is preventative and can be expensive I am surprised my Dad wanted me to get it done. I don’t think that Mike ended up having them later on – maybe it was a fad thing.

I was really really young so they must have been put into my baby teeth. The internet says that the ‘baby’ molars fall out between the ages of 10-13. That would mean people in middle school (which for me was at PDHS) were losing teeth, that seems really late in my mind. I must have had my molars filled in again when my adult teeth finished coming in. I remember the ‘skating rink’ explanation was given to me when I was child, not a pre-teen. So I got sealants twice!

They have worked well since I haven’t any cavities in my molars. I was told that they would only last for a few years (the internet says five years or more) but I actually still have one! I got x-rays done at the dentist last week and one showed up. It is going strong some 20 years later.

 They have this cool new thing too, where not only do they take the x-rays, but also little photos with a special stick. This tooth (coincidentally the one that has the bright white ‘skating rink’ on it) was photographed because it have a deep groove in the back that I am getting filled as a preventative measure. It won’t be done with sealant but a more permanent material.

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