Travails of Toothlesness - Part Two.
I had written the blog series Travails of Toothlesness between August and November 2007.
I was 58 then and had just last lost all my teeth with the extraction of the last tooth..
Even though I published the blog I was not very happy.
I have redone it and the revised edition of the 2007 Blog is being published now.
Original is retained and the link is
https://velusr.blogspot.com/2007/08/hi-every-body-some-rambling-thoughts-on.html
Some rambling thoughts on the matter of teeth.
I have been thinking of writing this bit for quite a few days now, but somehow could not get my teeth into it to really start writing, pun intended!
Some people are good at public speaking and making speeches! To a large extent, their good voice contributes to it, along with that if they have a good tone, diction, modulation and delivery, public speaking becomes so much more effective.
When all these, good voice, good tone, diction, modulation, delivery style get together the person becomes a very good orator and the listeners are held spellbound by the very quality of their sound.
Of course, you can not talk bunkum and hope to keep the listeners interested or spellbound only because you have a good voice. Good subject and text of the speech are of course important!
It is God's gift.
Though some claim public speaking can be learned and they have earned a lot of money by publishing books on "HOW TO" series on public speaking.
As time passes and the person gets older one of the things that happen is his teeth become weak, they develop cavities and in general ache, ( toothache is something people can do without.) start falling or have gone beyond retrieval and have to be pulled out.
Only old age may not be wholly responsible for the state of affairs as they may be the wages of very poor oral hygiene and trying to keep away from the toothbrush and the toothpaste, in younger days !!!!
If extraction or falling of teeth happens to be front teeth, the first casualty is looks and the second SPEECH.
The presence of front teeth is very very essential for pronunciations and articulating certain sounds, specifically associated with words having " S " or SH " in them.
While speaking, when words with this sound are spoken, they do not come out correct. Escaping air from the gaps in the front teeth imparts a whistling sort of noise to your pronunciation rather than, the correct sound.
This whistling sound while speaking is very embarrassing.
Gradually you realise that there are many more such embarrassing moments involving many more sounds in addition to the words "S" and "SH".
Needless to say with every component of good public speaking, good voice, good tone, good diction, modulation suffers. Your oratory is peppered with that whistling and other funny sounds and that does not impress the audience but becomes a cause of embarrassment for you.
Your excellent oratory is gone forever, along with your teeth.
This is nothing.
More embarrassment of the worst kind imaginable is in store.
This embarrassment occurs very suddenly and takes you totally by surprise.
It is the embarrassment of the listener getting some fine saliva spray through the gap left by missing front teeth in his face if you happen to get too close to the listener while earnestly emphasising a very serious point.
At such moments you wish that the earth opens up and you vanish from the scene. At such times other than mumbling sorry making a hasty retreat.
I have been mortified when I lost some good listeners after they had the "salvia spray treatment".
Travails of a toothless man.
