I GIVE THANKS FOR MY TEETH
What a strange topic to take seriously and why is it
necessary to give thanks for our teeth- natural or false? When you think about
it, teeth are majorly important both throughout human evolution and on a
personal level. Cutting teeth is often an horrendous experience for a child and
in some cases represents the closet a child comes to ultimate pain-(no I haven’t
forgotten about colic- some poor infants have a really tough induction into the
world!) The first comparison that comes to mind is the pain experienced by
millions of women the world over during childbirth. I have chosen to be extreme
but think about it for a minute; when we give birth we do have a pre-conceived
idea that it’s going to ‘hurt like hell,’ and for the majority of women it does-
but what of a tiny baby? How do you explain to a baby that its pain and misery
is simply the result of a few teeth cutting their way through their gums?
Once those teeth are actually cut our work begins. We must
look after our teeth and our children’s teeth. If your child is on a fantastic
natural diet then use natural toothpaste and spring water by all means, however
if they love the sweet stuff, give thanks for fluoride in tap water because it
really makes a difference to the strength of teeth. Recent generations have far
fewer filings and healthier teeth than me and my peers!
We have teeth; we look after them or maybe even lose them
through gum disease, accidents or general neglect. We can have replacements,
but why are teeth so important? Let’s skip past the hunter/gatherer stage and
look at this from a ‘today’ perspective. Beautiful teeth are attractive. Both
magazines and TV are full of beautiful people baring beautiful smiles with a
row of bright white, immaculate teeth. Wonderful! Nature however isn’t always
so accommodating. Some people have huge gaps and others, small jaws- their
teeth are too cramped often resulting in the removal of wisdom teeth- daaaam
the pain of cutting wisdom teeth shall never be forgotten! I guess they are
called wisdom teeth because they erupt in our teens when we are older and wiser
and know exactly what they’re doing to us! Dentistry is a science in itself and
if you take your children to see a dentist from a young age you will be offered
the necessary treatments to maximize the functionality of your child’s teeth.
But what is the functionality of teeth?
Yes we use our teeth to bite- preferably our food!
Unfortunately teeth are a tool some children use for communication when they do
not possess verbal skills or want attention- can’t talk-BITE! Usually it’s a
phase and is short lived however children with specific needs might develop
this into a habit and need a little behavioural assistance. As an adult, we may
well clench our teeth when mad or frightened and the urge to bite often exists!
The main purpose of teeth is to chew our food. The more time
you spend chewing, the more you appreciate the flavours and textures in each
mouthful. Without teeth we have a job eating and will be on a far ‘slushier’
diet of blended or soft food. If you have very strong teeth you can find
numerous additional uses for them including opening beer bottles! The other
pertinent use of teeth is to assist with clear speech and making ourselves
easily understood.
I am so thankful for my teeth and one of my biggest
nightmares, which apparently is quite common, is losing them all- so these
teeth are appreciated subconsciously as well as consciously! Time for a trip to
the dentist...
Jaz McKenzie
Contact me for your CV's, bio's, articles, interviews and web content: itsbraap@live.co.uk
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