Question

summary of poem oh I wish I had looked after my teeth.

Answer 1

The poem begins with a regret from the poet who wishes that she had cared for her teeth in childhood when she had been eating too many toffees and sweet sticky food. She was too careless and never listened to the instructions of her mother. She was too tempted by candies, lollies, sherbets and other sticky sweets. Her mother cautioned her time and again that a tooth is like a friend, and it should be looked after well. But the poet could not resist sweets. She tried to brush with up and down strokes, put lot of tooth paste on her teeth, but the damage was already done. Decay had given way to cavities and eventually to drillings and fillings. Now during adulthood, the poet regrets but nothing can change the condition of her teeth. Painful injections and visits to the dentist have become her routine. The poet feels so miserable and guilty over how she used to mock at her mothers ugly and false teeth. Now her condition is no different.

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Answer 2

In this poem by Pam Ayres, the poet regrets about the negligence of dental hygiene during her childhood.  She recalls the various kinds of candies, lollies, sherbets and other sticky sweets that she has consumed. As a result she developed cavities, caps and decay in her teeth.

In her adulthood, she feels guilty and says she should have resisted the temptation to buy sweets with her money and paid more attention to her teeth when she was a child. She recalls that though she tried to brush with up and down strokes, put lot of tooth paste on her teeth, it was of no use as the damage was already done. Decay had given way to cavities and eventually to drillings and fillings.

Now, she sits in the dentist’s chair staring at him, she feels remorseful about all the sweets that she had ever eaten. The dentist tells her that two amalgums will be filled in ywo of her teeth. Amalgum is the mixture of mercury and silver that is used for filling in the teeth.  Painful injections and visits to the dentist have become her routine. The poet also regrets nothing can change the condition of her teeth. The poet feels so miserable and guilty over how she used to mock at her mother’s ugly and false teeth and is sure that a similar fate awaits her.

The poet conveys a message through this poem that prevention is better than cure. It is written in a humorous way making light of a painful visit to the dentist


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Regards. :)