If you know me, you may have been lucky enough to hear the story of when I went to the dentist on April first and was told I had five cavities and I thought it was an April Fool's joke.
Or either account of having root canals before I even got to college and the few complications that came with those experiences. Or when I was in high school and had teeth grow in under baby teeth and break the baby teeth in half while they stayed attached to my gums. Or when I had a tooth pulled I can't remember when and my dentist told me it would grow in by the time I turned twelve, which actually happened when I was fifteen or sixteen.
My point is, I don't have the best teeth.
Ever since I had those root canals done in my late high school years, I swore I would be better with my teeth. They deserved it after all I had put them through. So I started flossing every day, like really flossing every day. And you know, it was all fine and swell when I was in the privacy of my own bathroom at home. But coming to school and using those shared bathrooms made me so insecure to floss! I don't know why I was so worried about it, I mean, girls would go in there and start picking at their faces in front of whoever was there, so why did I care?
I should also mention that in early elementary school, I loved my toothy smile. But as I got to middle school and high school, I would not be caught DEAD smiling with my teeth. I hated them. But as more people told me my smile was amazing, the more I decided to finally believe them and smile my real, toothy smile. I wasn't fully comfortable with doing so until about this past summer. So, freshman year of college, I think part of what played into my flossing embarrassment was the fact that I had to bear my teeth to do so.
I kept up with it, however, and with every dental checkup/cleaning, I had less and less problems! Amazing! One of my teachers once told me that there is no proof flossing actually helps or hurts and that if you already do it, you might as well keep going, but if you don't, you shouldn't feel the need to start, but I definitely saw and felt a difference.
This past year, my sophomore year, I noticed the other girls looking at me in the mirrors (with the way they're set up, you can see the other girls' faces just by looking into the mirror you're standing at) when I flossed, and I could feel them judging me.
Why am I being judged? For having better hygiene habits?
I usually just ignore it, because I know it's good for me to do and it's none of their business anyway. My roommate always tells me that I'm pretty much the only person she knows that flosses daily and I always laugh. I won't let other people control my healthy habits just because they make me feel slightly uncomfortable about it.