GOLD Tooth

I was frantically sweeping the floor of the kitchen, in anticipation of a visit from social services, checking up on me and the 4 year old girl, Zara, who I was fostering, when I saw something gold glimmering in the corner. I ran to the bathroom, and saw that one of my gold crowns had fallen out. It must have been during one of my 4am stumbles to the kitchen to get Zara a snack. Zara had come from a home that was food insecure so she often woke up in the middle of the night begging for food. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do to encourage her, but also wanted to reassure her that there was always food. Last night we sat in the kitchen eating ice cream sandwiches, me occasionally wiping her perpetually runny nose and smiling at her. I don’t know how my fake tooth fell out without me noticing it, but it did. I sighed, and ran to put a mask on because I didn’t have time to see the dentist between now, and whenever the social services guy arrived. These guys were always in their twenties, and you got the impression that they lived alone, probably brought their own laundry back to their mothers to do, and yet they came and inspected your house, running their white hands along the windowsills as if by accident. I know that in other areas, these social services people were usually women, but the people who turned up at my house were usually guys. I stuck the gold tooth in the back of my pocket, and continued to sweep. Maybe it was time for me to get a tooth colored tooth anyway. Although, how I could afford it, I wasn’t sure. I heard that people sometimes flew to exotic places to get their teeth fixed on the cheap. Columbia, maybe? I heard there were nice beaches. But my Aunt’s friend did that and she said that she was very happy with the results. It wasn’t until she was on her way home that said friend dropped dead of a heart attack, right in the airport. It was unrelated, my Aunt whispered to me. But of course, the questions linger.

I dated a dentist a long time ago, a David Bu, he was a weird guy, really tall with stringy yellow hair. We dated when he was in dental school, which he decided to do later in life, in his mid thirties. He lived in a one room apartment with a roommate whom he didn’t get along with but neither one of them would agree to move. In the end, they had put up a partition, similar to what squabbling siblings might use to divide a shared room, but they put the partition up throughout the whole apartment. The only thing they were forced to share was the bathroom, and neither one of them left anything in it. It was my boyfriend who was the slob, he ate pizzas and left the boxes on his side of the apartment. His own teeth were falling out, he had a bridge of fourth teeth, in the front. But he wasn’t too dumb, and he probably had finished medical school and gotten veneers by now. I googled him and saw that he had a practice about 15 miles from me. After the boring inspector man left, I jumped in my car and drove there. By the time I got into reception I was crying, because I had remember that I hadn’t exactly broken up with him and this was a bit of a pathetic reintroduction. There were two receptionists, and they told me that I could make an appointment five months hence. I saw David walking by, hey Dave, I said. He turned abruptly towards me. “Uh, I was wondering if you could help” I whispered, opening my mouth to show him the unattractive gaping hole in my mouth.” He winced slightly, which I thought was unfair because after all he was a dentist. “Take a seat” he sighed, like I was an annoying client, which I guess I was now. While seated in the leather chairs, I thought more and more about how much I disliked David. When he finally came to get me, he smiled a big shit eating grin and there they were, the full veneers, hiding his little nubby teeth underneath with blinding dental prestige. “Thanks so much for agreeing to help me” I said in what I thought was a professional tone as I sat in the dentist chair. “Yeah, it’s not often that I get do a favor for the person who broke my heart” said David. This remark caused me to nearly jump out of my chair. “What are you talking about” I yelped. “You broke up with me” David sighed and said “You know, I am working now” why don’t I see what I can do about this..” he said gesturing to the gold tooth that I clutched. “Oh yeah, ok sure, thanks so much, maybe we should talk about it later?” “I don’t think so” said David, lowering his visor.

— 7Roses