NaNoWriMo
An extract. I'm writing a book of short stories,and this is the first. I don't think it's finished yet, but I'm dropping it in favour of others for a little while. I'll go back and put things in as they occur to me.
Secondary canines are something I see a lot of problems with, these days. There didn’t used to be so many cases, but they slowly grew, from one or two a year to one or two a month, to their present rate, the rate at which they make up the majority of my cases.
Secondary canines come in after the wisdom teeth, usually. Of course, when they come in before the wisdom teeth, the wisdom teeth don’t appear at all. Secondary canines come in, pushing the primary canines out of the way, and sometimes causing a great deal of pain to their owner.
I mention wisdom teeth because the secondary canines are prone to many of the same problems. Not necessarily with flaps of gum, as some people get growing over their wisdom teeth, and, of course, the secondary canines are much further forwards in the mouth, so far easier to deal with, in that sense. But, they can become impacted, when there is not enough room for them to grow properly. Then, the usual solution is to simply remove some of the teeth nearby. One can never remove the secondary canines themselves, of course. The elaborate nerve systems and the veins contained within them makes them far too complicated to deal with, at least with the techniques dentistry has developed so far. X-rays show that they are directly attached to the jawbone. Removing them would be a complex and painful process. Then, of course, there’s the fact that the secondary canines are necessary for life. Even if we did have the techniques necessary to remove them, we’re years away from being able to rebuild them.
Well, perhaps not years. These days, teeth, particularly the secondary canines, are the most important facet of medicine. There is no need for doctors or chemists, just for dentists.
Occasionally, I remember the old jokes about dentists being doctors who dropped out of medical school. They seem much funnier these days.
The problem we have, when removing the secondary canines, is, firstly, the fact that the anaesthetic sac must come with it. When they bite, the secondary canines release anaesthetic into the victim’s skin, so it doesn’t hurt them. With the new blood industries, that’s not always necessary, but, these days, many people still prefer to keep them as a style issue. What I mean to say is that, a person walking around without prominent secondary canines may as well be walking around with a large target painted on their chest.
Secondary canines can also scrape against the mouth or gums. That’s a common problem. It’s actually slightly easier for those people with slight overbites, as their new teeth fit together better. I take care not to mention this to the patients I’ve known since childhood, the ones who spent their teenage years with train track teeth at my urging.
With our quick healing - the reason that there is no longer any need for physicians - the wounds heal quickly. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. Often, when the patient is sleeping, the secondary canines will continually cut through the lips, which will then heal, over and over. The patient wakes up covered in their own blood. Or, worse, the lips will heal with the secondary canines inside them, and the first yawn of the morning will send a spray of blood over their furniture.
Of course, another industry that has grown in recent years - apart from dentistry - is that of cleaning products specifically designed for that kind of accident. If not their own blood, then someone else’s. We don’t get sick anymore, so germs aren’t an issue. The companies who sold disinfectant had to find something else to do, so they went into that. Blood removal.
That comes in handy in my office too, that kind of thing.
There’s not much we can do about that problem. We can file the teeth slightly, take the edge off, but for more extreme cases, there are no options beyond complete removal, which is equivalent to crippling the patient. I don’t know what happens to those patients. I don’t tend to see them again after I tell them that.
What else can I tell you? There are as many issues as there are patients. Every one of them is unique, always has been. I admit, these days, their problems don’t differ as much as they used to. It’s always the secondary canines, that or simple cosmetic work.
I hate cosmetic work. Always have. That’s not why I got into dentistry. But, I do it, because my children have gotten into the habit of eating.
What else?
It’s harder on the young ones, of course. Their mouths are much smaller, but the secondary canines are of a similar size in children as in adults.
I beg your pardon?
Oh, of course, you’re right. I mean the smaller ones, not necessarily children. It’s so difficult to tell what age a person is these days. My children are still children of course - their secondary canines won’t come in until they’re good and ready for them. Until then, I must ensure, that, at all times, they are marked as mine. There are ways to do this, and, with everything being so open now, it is common knowledge that children are not to be touched. We cannot make any more, once the secondary canines come in, and we also stop aging once they do. Those who got them as children become increasingly angry as their minds grow older, but their bodies do not.
Secondary canines are something I see a lot of problems with, these days. There didn’t used to be so many cases, but they slowly grew, from one or two a year to one or two a month, to their present rate, the rate at which they make up the majority of my cases.
Secondary canines come in after the wisdom teeth, usually. Of course, when they come in before the wisdom teeth, the wisdom teeth don’t appear at all. Secondary canines come in, pushing the primary canines out of the way, and sometimes causing a great deal of pain to their owner.
I mention wisdom teeth because the secondary canines are prone to many of the same problems. Not necessarily with flaps of gum, as some people get growing over their wisdom teeth, and, of course, the secondary canines are much further forwards in the mouth, so far easier to deal with, in that sense. But, they can become impacted, when there is not enough room for them to grow properly. Then, the usual solution is to simply remove some of the teeth nearby. One can never remove the secondary canines themselves, of course. The elaborate nerve systems and the veins contained within them makes them far too complicated to deal with, at least with the techniques dentistry has developed so far. X-rays show that they are directly attached to the jawbone. Removing them would be a complex and painful process. Then, of course, there’s the fact that the secondary canines are necessary for life. Even if we did have the techniques necessary to remove them, we’re years away from being able to rebuild them.
Well, perhaps not years. These days, teeth, particularly the secondary canines, are the most important facet of medicine. There is no need for doctors or chemists, just for dentists.
Occasionally, I remember the old jokes about dentists being doctors who dropped out of medical school. They seem much funnier these days.
The problem we have, when removing the secondary canines, is, firstly, the fact that the anaesthetic sac must come with it. When they bite, the secondary canines release anaesthetic into the victim’s skin, so it doesn’t hurt them. With the new blood industries, that’s not always necessary, but, these days, many people still prefer to keep them as a style issue. What I mean to say is that, a person walking around without prominent secondary canines may as well be walking around with a large target painted on their chest.
Secondary canines can also scrape against the mouth or gums. That’s a common problem. It’s actually slightly easier for those people with slight overbites, as their new teeth fit together better. I take care not to mention this to the patients I’ve known since childhood, the ones who spent their teenage years with train track teeth at my urging.
With our quick healing - the reason that there is no longer any need for physicians - the wounds heal quickly. This isn’t necessarily a good thing. Often, when the patient is sleeping, the secondary canines will continually cut through the lips, which will then heal, over and over. The patient wakes up covered in their own blood. Or, worse, the lips will heal with the secondary canines inside them, and the first yawn of the morning will send a spray of blood over their furniture.
Of course, another industry that has grown in recent years - apart from dentistry - is that of cleaning products specifically designed for that kind of accident. If not their own blood, then someone else’s. We don’t get sick anymore, so germs aren’t an issue. The companies who sold disinfectant had to find something else to do, so they went into that. Blood removal.
That comes in handy in my office too, that kind of thing.
There’s not much we can do about that problem. We can file the teeth slightly, take the edge off, but for more extreme cases, there are no options beyond complete removal, which is equivalent to crippling the patient. I don’t know what happens to those patients. I don’t tend to see them again after I tell them that.
What else can I tell you? There are as many issues as there are patients. Every one of them is unique, always has been. I admit, these days, their problems don’t differ as much as they used to. It’s always the secondary canines, that or simple cosmetic work.
I hate cosmetic work. Always have. That’s not why I got into dentistry. But, I do it, because my children have gotten into the habit of eating.
What else?
It’s harder on the young ones, of course. Their mouths are much smaller, but the secondary canines are of a similar size in children as in adults.
I beg your pardon?
Oh, of course, you’re right. I mean the smaller ones, not necessarily children. It’s so difficult to tell what age a person is these days. My children are still children of course - their secondary canines won’t come in until they’re good and ready for them. Until then, I must ensure, that, at all times, they are marked as mine. There are ways to do this, and, with everything being so open now, it is common knowledge that children are not to be touched. We cannot make any more, once the secondary canines come in, and we also stop aging once they do. Those who got them as children become increasingly angry as their minds grow older, but their bodies do not.