Chris Barker wrote:
> I agree, Brian. It is odd ...
>
We recently rewatched Kenneth Clark's Civilization TV series from oh so
long ago. I highly recommend it, by the way. It's so very different and,
at least to us, refreshingly so, from contemporary shows about art history.
Anyway, the one jarring note was his teeth; snaggly might be the best
term to describe them, of various odd lengths and shapes, various
darkish colors and arranged every which way.
Given his background, it seems unlikely that he had been unable to
afford dentistry. Given his obvious care with other aspects of his
appearance, it seems unlikely that he didn't care about how he appeared
to others. So I must put it down to simple cultural difference. I
imagine most 'Murkins, like myself, see teeth like that imagine
unhealthy gums, difficulty eating, bad breath, etc. Apparently those of
his era and class see them as perfectly normal and healthy.
I do know that joking and/or disparaging remarks about British dentistry
are not uncommon here. My long time dental hygienist has been going to
Germany for 6 weeks or so each year to teach for some years, and has
commented on how primitive gum care there is compared to here.
As a 65 year old still with all his original teeth, at least the roots,
if not all the tops, I'm very happy with the local obsession with
dental/periodontal care and the time I spend on it on my own.
As to whether the obsession with blindingly white teeth is a good or bad
thing, it seems to me to be much less unhealthy than so many other human
obsessions that I can't see anything wrong with it. As it happens, my
two upper front teeth are capped as a result of being broken off at
scout camp over half a century ago. As the last pair of crowns lasted
many, many years, they started to stand out bright against my other,
gently darkening teeth.
It finally got so funny looking that I whitened the rest back to almost
match the crowns. Then somewhat later, I was in my last year of pre
Medicare dental insurance and chose to have the crowns replaced. They
were still technically sound, but becoming a bit unattractive, what with
wear and gum recession, and with far fewer years of life left going
forward than already given. So what do you do then? They matched the
crowns to the other teeth.
So I suppose one day I will be whitening the rest to match the crowns
again. :-)
Tempest in a teapot. Oh! I suppose all that tea is in part to blame for
yellow and brown teeth.
Symbolically, teeth are powerful metaphors for competence. Common
phrases reflect that: "She really got her teeth into that." "He bit off
more than he could chew with that project." "Take the bit between your
teeth (or grit one's teeth) and carry on. (in the face of difficulties
or adversity)" Perhaps the American interest in strong, clean, healthy
teeth in some way reflects their historical cultural ethos of individual
strength, courage and fortitude, the "frontier spirit".
Certainly loss of teeth and other dental problems are a serious health
problem for animals in the wild, and presumably in our evolutionary
ancestors, as well. You don't check the teeth of a horse before buying
just for aesthetic reasons.
Just as antler size, silver back hair, big canines, plume color and size
and so many other appearance factors are crucial parts of social
confrontation and power struggles in animals, perhaps apparent dental
strength is important in mating, territorial and business interactions
in Homo Americanus.
Moose
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