Have I ever told you about my shark teeth?
I was not a great tooth brusher as a child. My mum tried all sorts of things to encourage it–tooth stains, special toothpaste, timers, special brushes–but I had sensory issues with it and eventually she just sort of…gave up. I brushed them, but not well.
I have no doubt that my baby teeth were not in good condition by the time they fell out, but I was a child and I didn’t do much better with my adult teeth.
This probably wouldn’t have become a problem until I was an actual adult (rather than just fitted with a set of adult teeth), but when I was…a pre-teen, I think. Maybe 11? I felt one of my front teeth wiggling.
I freaked out. How could I stop it wiggling? Was this punishment for my lacklustre brushing?
I was incredibly careful of my teeth. I brushed them obsessively and with care. I flossed. I timed myself.
My mum was resigned that I would lose that tooth, I think, but I wasn’t.
Except that wasn’t the only wiggly tooth. In fact, one by one my other teeth became loose. I started losing teeth. It sort of hurt to eat until they came out.
I was in a state of absolute panic. At no point did I get taken to the dentist, as we couldn’t afford it.
Except for one thing.
Are you familiar with how sharks continually shed teeth as new ones grow in, keeping their mouths sharp and ready to tear into prey?
As an autistic child with an animal special interest, I was.
And I realised, after my first few teeth went, that there was something hard pushing out of my itchy gums.
More teeth.
My mother accepted this news with a shrug. ‘Oh yeah, my cousin had that. An extra set of teeth.’
‘Like a shark?’
‘Sure, like a shark.’
Sure enough, my awful first set of adult teeth were replaced with perfect brand new teeth. And, having LIVED the common nightmare of all my teeth falling out, I was in perfect routine with my teeth.
Every time I have been to the dentist since then (which was not often!) I learned that I had perfect teeth. To this day, I have never had a cavity or any dental complication worse than needing some anti-biotics for my wisdom teeth.
Although I have been warned that I was doing some damage to my gums. It turned out that four to six times a day is considered over-brushing!
I’m still very careful of my teeth. As another set has not appeared, I’m pretty sure I don’t have actual shark teeth. The condition of getting extra teeth is called hyperdontia. I think that’s what I had. Though I don’t know how common it is to lose ALL your teeth.
And that’s the story of how all my teeth fell out.
The end!