"So how many are we taking out today then?"

Dentists.

I haven't had the best experience with them, to be perfectly honest with you.

I'm pretty sure the first teeth that grew in my mouth were wonky, and they continued to grow wonky. Very wonky. My two front teeth had a huge gap...not a Madonna gap, but a big gap that formed in the shape of a triangle. And the rest of my teeth were in there, but all over the place. I couldn't bite into an apple because of the shape of my teeth...this made apple bobbing one of the most difficult things to do in my childhood. I competed an apple bobbing relay race at my youth club once, and need I say, my team lost - very badly. But at the time, I loved the uniqueness of my teeth. But, the dentists did not feel the same way. I was told I need braces when I was about 12 years old, and they said that they'd send a letter with my next appointment. I seem to remember always falling ill on these appointment days...for about 3 years.

When I was about 15, the dentist set an appointment, and my mum got in on the fun too. My mum said I needed a filling, so I was like - ok. Let's go get a filling. I sat down on the dentist's chair ready for my filling...the chair goes back and as I was reclining, he turned around and said those fateful words. "So how many are we taking out today then?".......

I'm sure you can imagine my horror. Tricked into it! That day he took out 7 of my teeth. They were milk teeth that just didn't want to leave...I gave them a nice place to live, why leave? But, in order to have braces, they had to come out...and that's what happened. When you're 15, the last thing you want is a smile where teeth are missing...and that's what I had.

The problem? After the milk teeth came through, one of my adult teeth didn't want to come through. So, back to the dentist. They said that I needed an operation on my gum, and essentially, I needed a window in my gum...and that's what happened. I went to the hospital and had a window cut into my gum.

But, what? The tooth started growing the wrong way? Of course it is. Back to the dentist. He refers me to an orthodontist, and when I had just turned 16...I got my brace. I had the brace until the week before I came to uni. And despite the years of horror as explained above...and the fact that I don't trust anybody when it comes to my teeth, I am now happy with my relatively straight teeth. I still don't like going to the dentist, they're perfectly nice people, they play the radio, they ask questions they know I can't answer because their hands are in my mouth...but I don't enjoy going, just in case they say those words again...

"So how many are we taking out today then?"