Sorry, but to do today’s installment of Month of Thanksgiving, I’m going to have to brag: I’ve never had a cavity and I’ve never had a filling.
My dentist in my hometown used to joke that I was never going to help him pay off his boat if I kept having check ups so good. My dentist in Ann Arbor, also on faculty at University of Michigan, half joked that I should be in a clinical study at the university because my teeth were the model of what they’re supposed to look like.
When I relay these nuggets to John, it infuriates him because I don’t floss regularly and he does, but he’s the guy with the gold crown on one of his molars.
It’s certainly not genetics. My parents both had terrible teeth.
But I do credit my mom. She took calcium while she was pregnant and gave me chewable fluoride as a kid, then she regularly took me for check ups — I don’t think my parents benefited from any of that when they were little.
Mom also got me into braces. The whole deal: rubber bands, headgear, eight teeth removed to make room for the ones that are left.
So it’s taken some effort to get here, but most of the time, I sort of take my good teeth for granted. Until I talk to a friend with gum disease, or a coworker getting a root canal. Then I remember how good I’ve got it.
Did I mention I have 20/20 vision, too?