Smile; an upward curving of the corners of the mouth often indicating happiness, pleasure or amusement

I had an appointment with my dentist today to replace a filling (thank you delicious but too chewy sourdough bread) and it got me thinking back to when I first visited his office in somewhat of a panic with 10 days to go before our wedding back in 2007.

I know all of the stereotypes about bad British teeth and I'm ashamed to admit that when I first moved to the US I was so freaked out at the thought of having to get a bunch of work done that I procrastinated and didn't see a dentist for almost four years (I know, I know, bad Leah). I once caught an episode of The Simpsons where Lisa was shown a horrifying "Big Book of British Smiles" by her dentist and it made me feel even worse:


Anyway back when planning our wedding in just 2 months (planning takes as much time as you have in my opinion - you can plan for 1,3,5 years if you have it, I just figured we could make it happen in less than 3 months), I was so focused on all of the obvious details - picking out readings, finding the dress, alterations, the shoes, booking hair and make up - that it wasn't until about 10 days to go that it hit me.

We'd have these wedding pictures for ever and I hated my teeth. I am the biggest scaredy-cat when it comes to shots and so I hit the interwebs planning to find someone to sedate me and then work some Extreme Makover-style magic on my teeth. Imagine my delight when google led me to my now dentist Dr. Corben. Yes, his offices in Salem and Danvers are a decent drive from our house but frankly I would have flown to him when I found out that he had some kind of magic high-tech drill and lasers that vibrate out any decay which meant no numbing shots.

And not only that but Dr C and his lovely team happily scheduled me for almost daily appointments for the next 10 days where my gnashers were cleaned, buffed, polished, Zoom whitened, filings replaced and a couple of little chips bonded.

On our wedding day I don't think my smile could have been any wider, I was marrying the man I loved (and my teeth looked pretty darn good whilst doing it).

Photo credit: Wynn Las Vegas

I'm sharing this as I've had conversations with wedding clients who are self-conscious and worried about smiling on their wedding day. One lovely groom even asked if I would be able to only take pictures of him with his mouth closed. So maybe it's not just British people ;)

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