Toothsome

Used to be, a smile was something that happened naturally to cheeks and chins. Teeth showed, but didn't require sunglasses in their glare of snowy white. Now it's all about colour, or rather, the lack of it. You see natural tooth colour and shape, almost nowhere these days. No longer is it bra and hip size, hair implants or colour that make for ideal appearances. It's the whiteness of your teeth that counts most. Well, not actually, your own teeth but the ones your dentist either enameled, capped, implanted or replaced with the same kind of plastic that makes nose cones for  rockets. Those of us with natural teeth daren't smile widely. We are no longer, no matter how much we visit our dentist or hygienist, quite sure that we look our best with our usual pearlies. We spend a lot on our dentistry and keep up the regular appointments, but those who use up their inheritances, savings and lottery wins, walk into clinics and come out with smiles that could possibly defeat Darth Vadar in their dazzle. The media set, flash their  artsy smiles with a whiteness that puts all natural incisors and cuspids to shame. Snow white got there with her skin but now it's whiter teeth that reign. Anywhere. Everywhere.  One of my relatives once known for her shy wit and pleasant looks, got her mouth redone and updated with a set of whites that cost almost as much as a small car. No longer was she a bashful soul, but emerged like a butterfly with her new set of whiter than white caps. From then on, permanently she set that rack of whites into a big square smile whether something were funny or not. Probably also in her sleep. Adding  salon eyelashes, gym routines, a dot or six of Botox, a shot of lip enhancer and she might have outshone a Hollywood starlet. I tell this out of sheer envy due to my shamefully boring, natural  teeth that are four shades less white and will stay that way. There is something stubborn in my psyche that simply will not agree to the cost of someone digging about in my mouth to support his or her classy new waiting room with the designer walls and potted palms. But my tone, merely shows how envious I am. What has happened to us as human creatures? The things we do to our bodies to emulate modern day icons and idols are not only ironic they are dangerous. The pain, the cost, the fakery is ignored in pursuit of achieving what magazines and celebrity show as the ideal. We want to be perfect. No one is and even avatars have problems as seen in the famous film. Vanity is marketable and doing well even in bad times. Most of the substances that we slather on our faces, remove, insert or apply to our bodies lie. They don't make us any younger which is the ultimate goal of anyone over twenty-five or six. This is the age group that sees the first tiny line or wrinkle, perhaps a grey hair or a freckle. Told that youth will ensure your love life will be enhanced, your opportunities widen and your social standing expand is a lie. What really occurs is massaging the ego, as well as reducing the income. I see people enter the place where I go for a pedicure, who come in regularly for eyelashes, finger nails, hair removal, piercings, skin treatments and tattoos for which they pay as much a month as their grocery bill. It makes them feel better about themselves, they smile with their whiter than white teeth.