Five Frequently Asked Questions About My Teeth

by Nora Ray

What do you do with them?

       You think I’m doing something gross. You assume I’m constructing a sort of Frankenstein or just put them in the unexpected holes of my body. Believe me, I do not.
     Every tooth I’ve collected is glued to a piece of paperboard, hanging on the wall. I look at them. I observe them the way people with aquariums observe fish. There is almost no difference. It helps me think. Some people sew. Some knit. I watch the teeth.

     Why do you collect them?

     My answers are never satisfying. I just like the way they look. I like teeth.
     Have you ever seen dozens of different people’s teeth on a piece of paperboard? They look like precious stones.
     You don’t know how amazing teeth are. They are unique, like fingerprints or snowflakes. The teeth I collect are abnormal, consumed by cavities, cracked. It makes them even more unique. Sometimes I spend hours staring at a tooth, thinking about the person who once had it in their mouth. What are they doing right now? Do they remember their tooth?

     When did you start collecting them?

     I love this question. It’s clear and thoughtful.
     Seven years ago. I was working as an intern in a dental clinic. I remember it was raining when I was extracting that girl’s wisdom tooth.
     After the girl left, the nurse asked me if I was going to keep the tooth. I never thought a dentist could keep them. I thought I had to incinerate it. I was so happy carrying it home.
     It fascinates me that a part of someone’s body—a stranger’s body—can belong to me, and everyone’s okay with that.

    What does your spouse think about your collection?

     She doesn’t think about the collection, I suppose.
     She thinks it’s odd I spend so much time around that piece of paperboard. Watching, thinking, touching.

     Don’t you think your hobby is weird?

     Not really. But…
     Sometimes I want to lick the teeth. Sometimes I want to put some under my pillow.
     These thoughts become obtrusive. But I don’t find them dangerous.

Nora Ray wanted to be a teacher, a doctor, an entrepreneur, a waiter, an astronaut, and, at some point, even an ichthyologist. So she became a writer to be everything at once. You can find her on X: @noraraywrites.