Question

Justify the title of the poem Oh I wish I had looked after me teeth by Pam Ayres.

Answer 1

Through this poem the poet, Pam Ayers wants to convey to the children an important message of looking after their teeth since childhood. She teaches the students a lesson of not developing faulty eating habits. She tells them that eating so many chocolates, candies, toffees, fast food, etc. will affect the health of their teeth! Brushing teeth before going to bed is a must for the dental hygiene. If we don't look after our teeth well, we will have to frequently go to the dentist and undergo so much of pain on account of our carelessness! Since the poem is about poet’s regret for not having taken care of her dental hygiene and an advice to the readers to take care of their teeth, so the title is justified.

Answer 2

As Hemant had written

In “Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth”, the poet Pam Ayres expresses her anguish over her decayed teeth and cavities. She regrets over the fact that she kept on eating both hard and soft sweets of all kinds. She says that she never noticed the decay while she brushed her teeth yet the conclusion was decayed teeth. The poem is in a form of warning to children who eat too many sweets.

Also according to Kanwaljeetnancy

Oh I wish I had looked after me teeth conveys the poet's regret at having damaged her teeth due to her negligence. the poet Pam Ayres expresses her anguish over her decayed teeth and cavities. She regrets over the fact that she kept on eating both hard and soft sweets of all kinds. Pam Ayres has deliberately used a clause rather than a phrase to explicity underline her sense of remorse at her irresponsible approach and carelessness. the interjection oh brings out a sense of helplessness that the narrator feel when there is no use crying over spilt mik. thus the title that sounds so casual has been selected with a great care and it is a well choosen and apt title.