I have more store-bought teeth than real ones at this point. Without going into my whole dental history, I got my several of front teeth knocked out when I was 8 or 9 (nothing flashy . . . bouncing on a bed with my friend and her head hit mine on the bounce as I was coming down), and I've had caps put on most of my molars due to bad fillings (I guess).
I got a root canal at 9. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Let me drop a quick dentist story on you . . .
WRT the "Nip" incident, the dentist pulled that cap off and started cleaning the tooth carcass (for lack of a better term) underneath. You know that little metal pick they like to jam around your teeth? The sharp one? Yeah. The azz accidentally poked that thing into the soft stuff that's exposed when you remove your cap. I stood stright up in the chair and said 3 Hail Marys while I tried (in vain, thankfully) to pull his spleen out through his ear canal.
I can honestly tell you that pain took on a new perspective that day, and I've dealt with loads of pain before. Now, when I go to the dentist I'm thinking, "Short of stabbing my tooth marrow with an ice pick, there's nothing you can do to hurt me lady."
