Filling

I have fillings in almost all of the teeth that I have left. It's a lot cheaper to have them taken out than to get root canal treatment. I take care of my teeth nowadays, but I didn't when I was younger and I've paid the price. Literally from my bank account, and figuratively from now having fewer than the normal number of teeth in my head.

I grew up in the country, and we used rainwater in the house, which is apparently one possibly reason for why I've had teeth issues. Tap water has added fluoride, rainwater doesn't. That makes sense, but I think it was probably the decade of smoking and never brushing my teeth that did it.

I didn't *never* brush my teeth. But as a kid I avoided it as much as possible, in favour of just scraping the fuzz off my teeth instead. It makes me feel kind of sick now to think about it. It also makes me question why none of the adults around me picked up on it. My breath must have been atrocious!

It's only as an adult after having spent thousands of dollars to get my teeth into a reasonable state that I've realised what I was avoiding as a kid. It wasn't the brushing itself; it was the toothpaste. The strong mint flavour of the toothpaste burned my mouth.

I didn't really realise this at the time though. I just hated brushing my teeth. Now, I buy milder or non-mint flavoured toothpaste and I brush twice a day and floss with some regularity. I still worry about how much I'm going to have to spend keeping my teeth in shape, but at least I think I've managed to slow the degradation.

I just received an email from my dentist reminding me of my upcoming appointment.