Fascinating discoveries at the orthodontist today.
Doc looked at my front teeth and asked, cautiously, if I have any Asian ancestry. I said no, I’m Irish, as far as I know. He then went on to explain what a Chinese friend had told me years ago: upper front teeth that are curved in the back (often referred to as “shovel teeth”) are standard for people of Asian descent, but not European. Doc’s conclusion was that, being 100% Irish and having these curved teeth, I was descended from an isolated population (read: inbred). Doc himself is descended from (inbred) Pharaohs so, not to worry, he also has the same teeth.
Thanks to Google, I realized that these recessive Asian teeth were not a freak result of inbreeding from my proud Northern Irish ancestors, not that it matters either way, but rather that these ancestors were direct descendants of the Melungeons — a people from Central Asia who mixed with Africans, Middle Easterns and American Indians, settling largely in Appalachia. But they also passed through Ireland at one point, and my great-great-great-great whoever must have done some breeding because I seem to have inherited all the interesting, albeit irrelevant, traits.
Doc decided the curved backs of my two front teeth were messing up the bite, so he shaved them off. Then he shaved between my premolar on the left side to try and correct the bite on that side…as well as the front right FST (Formerly Sideways Tooth) to make it fit better against the front tooth…and now I’m wearing elastics from the top left canine to the bottom left molar. That’s my ortho update for this week.
I am Central Asian! Who knew?! And here I was, wearing four-leaf clover shirts. Moral: one belief system will always replace another until we outgrow them all.