What 22 years of terrible gum disease has taught me about pain, shame and politics | Zoe Williams

When a dentist is holding something sharp in your mouth, you need them to be infinitely accepting of you and your behaviour. A person like that is hard to find


I need to talk about my 22 years of chronic periodontitis and all the wisdom I’ve gained from it. People who’ve never heard of it look nonplussed when you tell them it’s a fancy word for gum disease, while the people who have heard of it, well, that’s because they’ve also got it. We’re more important on this occasion, because our lives are worse.

It’s sometimes genetic but more often because you smoke, and it’s definitely not genetic in my case because my mother last went to the dentist in 1987 and still has more teeth than me. Thirty-four years ago, a dentist said to her: “Next time, try not to be so neurotic,” and she never went back. That’s how good she is at taking criticism. That bit is genetic.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3AVl7tQ

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