Fang Flirtation

The Elephant in the room....  “An English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed”.

The obvious truth, a mouth full of metal... the reaction, nothing. Thus,

The Elephant in my mouth.

It is pretty obvious when someone recognises the brace. Eye contact becomes teeth contact. They talk to my teeth and – quite bizarrely – i find myself serenading theirs. Pearly white whisperings.  Incisor intrigue. Fang flirtation.  

I have not adopted the lip-over-brace attempt to talk which i have seen other fail at, miserably. I’d rather not look like a muppet mouth, thanks.

Only once in the last 3 and a half months has someone been explicit about acknowledging my brace. Surprisingly, I found his honesty refreshing. Endearing. Charming. The fact he was three years old was besides the point.

...

I was pretending to be a Lion (anything to amuse a miserable toddler). Mid-Roar, he gasped. Yes... I was better at this predator play than I gave myself credit for. No. The three year old pointed, bemused, at my open-snarling-mouth.

OH NO!” he exclaimed “YOUR TEETH ARE POORLY”... “WAIT THERE, I AM A PLUMBER AND I WILL SNIP THAT OFF FOR YOU AND FIX YOUR POORLY TEETH”. He was too cute. And honest. It was then I realised that, if a lion cub in disguise can acknowledge my brace, everyone must.

 

Despite this exception, my teeth continue to attract guilty glares... and will do so for the remaining time.  The brace will continue to be the elephant in my mouth.

Smile widely and give them an engaging audience.