No One EVER Needs To Know
誰も知る必要がないこと
There has been times when my patients have told me that their husbands or their wives don’t even know that they have dentures. “How is that possible?” I thought. “How well do husbands and wives really know each other not to know that they have fake teeth?”
aaaaaIt wasn’t until this past month that I realized that it’s true! According to my Mother?In-Law, there are also things that no one will ever know.
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aaaaaAfter her knee surgery, my Mother-In-Law had a hard time getting out of bed for a few days. Since I already knew that she wears full dentures, I helped her clean her dentures in the bathroom and put them next to her bed at night.
aaaaaThe other day, her youngest son was over to see how she was doing. It was late at night so he wanted to make sure she was OK for the night before he left. It’s very important to keep the bacteria levels in the body as low as possible as her knee is healing up. I held out my hand to take her dentures for cleaning just as he handed her a toothbrush, toothpaste and a basin to rinse out with while she was in bed. She looked at both of us and said, “It’s OK, I’ll brush my teeth later by myself.” I realized that he didn’t know that she had dentures! I also realized that my Mother-in-Law didn’t want him to know that she had dentures! I watched her brush her upper and lower dentures while they were still in her mouth just as if she still had her teeth. After she rinsed out, she handed him the things. As he went to put things back, my Mother-in-Law and I exchanged little smiles with the secret still just between the both of us.
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aaaaaWhen patients are having dentures made here at our office, I always tell them that one of the goals of having dentures is so that other people don’t notice it. If your denture teeth are too white for your age or if they are too straight for your age, people will take notice. Certain things need to be “age-appropriate” in order to blend in properly. There are some things that make you feel good when other people take notice of (a new hairstyle, new earrings, or a new watch) but there are other things that, according to my Mother-in-Law, no one EVER needs to know about!
（次回は11月第２週号掲載）
〈Keyword〉
dentures 総入れ歯
basin 洗面器
age-appropriate 年相応の
（「WEEKLY Biz」2013年10月12日号掲載）
〈プロフィル〉Dr. Clara Lee ニューヨーク大学歯学部卒業。ニューヨーク大学ブルックデール病院でチーフレジデンス修了。13年以上に及ぶ臨床経験は一般歯科、コスメティック、インプラントを含む。インビザライン認定医。Waterside Dental Care院長として古山医師と共に、多くの日本人患者さんを治療。Dentistryをこよなく愛している。記事提供：Waterside dental Care（Tel：212-683-6260）
