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Long in the Tooth
By Scott Harrup | November 25, 2008
Perhaps you’ve heard the old expression for old age. “Long in the tooth” generally means old or worn out. The saying probably connects with our gums’ tendency to recede from our teeth and make them appear longer in our later years. Teeth, however, are actually ground down and get shorter with advanced age. Maybe the expression should be “short in the tooth.”
Either way, with my semi-annual cleaning at the dentist yesterday, I got to thinking about teeth. In the United States, we tend to take for granted the availability of good dental care. Third World families are not so fortunate.
When we lived in Sierra Leone, my dad’s sister and her husband paid us a visit. Aunt Mary worked as a dental hygienist, so when she offered to give basic dental care to some of the students attending our little Bible college, people were ecstatic. Her “basic” ministrations ended up being the extraction of at least one molar, as I remember. And that without benefit of Novocaine. Brother Andrew was simply glad to have a qualified person who could pull the tooth that must have been giving him considerable pain for months.
Whenever I remember Andrew’s groans in our living room as Aunt Mary “rocked” that tooth with grim determination, I thank God for the painkillers I’ve enjoyed during each of my dental procedures through the years.
When Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill headed home, she donated her tools to the mission in case anyone else needed a worrisome bit of their smile removed. Mom offered first aid to local families, but I don’t remember that she ever ventured into dentistry. I don’t think those tools were ever used for their intended purpose.
However, we did return from one family trip to discover our home burglarized (not an uncommon event) and Dad’s small office safe emptied of local churches’ meager funds. The tools used to twist apart an opening in the small sheet-metal compartment? Aunt Mary’s surgical steel dental pliers.
The combination of nefarious deeds done with dental equipment and Dad’s pseudo-“safe” brings to mind Laurence Olivier’s calm menace as he quietly went to work on Dustin Hoffman’s front teeth in the classic thriller Marathon Man.
“Is it safe?” the Nazi doctor Olivier was portraying would ask Hoffman’s frantic grad student character.
Another reason to be thankful for your kindly family dentist.
So where is this stream-of-consciousness toothy tour headed? Having mentioned thankfulness twice (thrice, counting that last mention), I guess this is my Thanksgiving blog. I hope you and your family have a blessed time together this week reflecting on life’s many blessings. Even dentists.
Topics: Bizarre, Books and Films, Family Life |
