Filling time

I've always been quite proud of my teeth - especially the fact that I don't have any fillings.

Well, I've now discovered that the easiest way to avoid having fillings is not to brush diligently and avoid sugars, but simply to avoid going to the dentist at all. By not going you can delude yourself into thinking that your teeth are just tickedy-boo. It's a cheap but ultimately self-destructive method.

Despite hearing countless horror stories about Japanese dentists, I was pretty impressed.
Maybe I just got lucky.

In my first visit to the dentist in almost four years, I was told that I had no less than three cavities. I guess that would explain the sensitivity a little. However, two of them are on my wisdom teeth, which I didn't even realise I had. Seeing as most people have their wisdom teeth pulled, I figure that these two cavities don't count, effectively giving me just one filling, which isn't too bad, right? I'm gonna look at these wisdom teeth as some kind of bonus item that I can abuse at will (a bit like unwanted children). Like when you pick up a shield in Sonic and you become a little careless. It doesn't matter if you lose the shield after all.

Wisdom teeth are called oya-shirazu in Japanese, which literally means 'teeth that your parents don't know about'. I guess that puts them in the same category as porno magazines (not that I've ever owned porno mags - but I've heard that other people do). I imagine that all Japanese men are terrified of their mothers discovering their secret stash of rotting black wisdom teeth. Having them yanked out is a pretty painful process after all.

I'll be heading back there next week to do the dirty deed. Time to close my eyes and think of the queen.