RANDOM! Odontophobia

As I grow older I have realized that I have a proclivity to suffer from various psychological disorders. I believe the potential to become a raving lunatic at some point in our lives exists in all of us (happy thoughts!). For me, I'm borderline obsessive compulsive about certain things, for instance, the spoons and bowls my children eat cereal out of each morning have to match. Also, when I'm highlighting something, it needs to be a perfect rectangle, or I may throw it away and start over, despite my guilt over wasting paper. Anyway, I don't think I'm there ... yet. Give me 15 years or so and I may be on medication. 

There is a phobia I can say with certainty that I suffer mildly from, and that is odontophobia, the fear of teeth and/or dental procedures. And its really not the dental procedures that bothers me, as one would assume. No, it's actually the teeth. And not teeth in general, but teeth that have fallen out, or are soon to disengage. 

My children love to show me when they have a loose tooth, how it wiggles and bleeds, and it sickens me. Also, they will keep their teeth when they fall out, which leads to the inevitable: a random tooth on the counter, in a drawer, or more recently, under some papers next to my laptop.

I think this fear was awakened when I watched the movie Don't be Afraid of the Dark. Let's be clear: I hate horror movies. I rarely watch them. Ever since I watched Pet Cemetery in 6th grade and had horrifying dreams for months afterward, I know better. But for some reason my husband wanted to watch it, and although I fell asleep after about 15 minutes, it was long enough to witness that the creatures in the house were twisted, evil little versions of the tooth fairy, and demanded the teeth of children. 

Wherever it originated from, I know one thing: it's getting worse as time goes on. So please, keep your teeth to yourselves people. They are dirty and disgusting and make me think of death, and I don't want to have to touch one ever again.

Jess

“Even if one understands that what one is doing is mad, it is indeed still madness.” 

― Guillermo del Toro, The Fall