How are your teeth?

This column is dedicated to acknowledging examples of positives that express the community spirit of Columbus, — our town.

Mamaw, my Grandmother, Louletia Elliott White, who lived a large portion of my life, (thank you Lord for all of her 96 years) had beautiful teeth. It occurs to me that Mamaw never saw a dentist. She was a great cook, a fine seamstress, and a devout Christian (read her Bible every single day). I remember the peacefulness of my grandparent’s home.

Of course, there was no television to fill the air. There were special radio times that she and Granddaddy Vig enjoyed — Betty Crocker, Walter Cronkite, a baseball game, or an occasional bigtime fight. There were daily naps and trips to the post office in Ft McKavett. One never thought of shopping or going to movies. Chores on the ranch were absolutely necessary. Of their three children, only one inherited Mamaw’s beautiful teeth. My Mother, Marie, was not the one.

My Aunt Francis had the right genes to be the fortunate child. Her teeth may have been more beautiful than Mamaw’s. She had those same lovely teeth for the Colgate advertisement. Those teeth helped her to have an absolutely beautiful smile. My mother not only missed out on the beautiful teeth, she also was born missing an eye tooth. This situation, for some reason, led to my being born missing two teeth on the left side. The result was a large space between my two front teeth. Mother and I would be considered “frequent flyers” to the dentist. I actually grew up hearing the dentist comment on the terrible state of my teeth. One day, he told Mother that I would be fortunate to have my own teeth by age 21. Mother did have dentures, but so far, I have escaped with two bridges.

If I include my daddy’s dental history, it would be negligible. He did have a missing bottom front tooth which caused him no worry. The next important fact is that all my childhood I daydreamed about solutions for the gap between my two front teeth. Once a classmate (boy) repeatedly asked me what I wanted for Christmas. He wasn’t my favorite boyfriend — thus I consistently replied “I want my two front teeth.” Sure enough, he handed me a beautifully wrapped small box at Christmas. Much to my distress, that box contained 2 extremely large horse teeth.

This dental story takes a dramatic turn when you hear the disasters associated with my two bridges — one upper and one lower. My home in Abilene had a cute shelf above the sink. One night in a hurry, I took out my upper bridge and placed it on that cute shelf.

Certainly, I was tired after a day at school, and in the midst of the “hurry,” I heard a a terrible grinding from the disposal. Of course, you know the next part of the story. Even though quite strong, my upper bridge was no match for the disposal. What a feeling I experienced as I gathered the precious bits of that bridge! Surely there was a lesson learned! No, there’s more. This year, on a return trip from Santa Fe, NM, we stopped for a favorite lunch at Owl Drug Store in Coleman, TX.

Afterward, it was necessary to use a Kleenex to wipe off my bottom bridge. It was soon discovered that the top bridge was not in my mouth. After a startled “fit”, Bob suggested that I check the floorboard. I was hopeful but it wasn’t to be. For two weeks, I searched clothes and luggage and traced our steps with phone calls to various stops. Finally, I called my dentist friend, Dr Moeller, and made The appointment.

Very soon, Bob came in joyfully holding that lost bridge. I immediately tried to place the bridge in my mouth, but it was a “no Go.” There was obvious damage. The lost bridge had appeared on his desk. It was traced to the carport found by Martha, our housekeeper. Of course, we now know know that is was probably on the floorboard and missed in the first search. I guess you see that teeth are one of my best known subjects. The new ones are on the way.