Smile!
Sarah Michelle Gellar Compares Recent Dental Surgery To Childbirth
“This surgery took me down.”
When it comes to pain, those of us who’ve been pregnant frequently make use of a trump card: child birth. Whether you had a medicated vaginal delivery, c-section, or unmedicated birth, labor and delivery is tough to top on the pain scale. So for someone who has endured childbirth to even mention another pain in the same sentence, like when Sarah Michelle Gellar compared recent dental surgery to natural birth, you can only sit back and wince.
The Buffy and Scooby Doo actress, who has two children with husband Freddie Prinze Jr. — Charlotte, 13, and Rocco, 10 — took to Instagram recently to post about her procedure.
“Last month, after years of being what is known as an aggressive brusher, I had to have dental surgery. A gum graft to be specific,” she wrote alongside a picture of her smiling wide. “Now I’ve had natural child birth, and this surgery took me down. So now to be smiling this big… is a big deal. That’s all. Oh and take it from me, brush gently.”
Of course it’s always awful when someone needs a painful medical procedure... but is it a little bit funny that a woman best known for slaying vampires is posting about her “fangs?” Not really but kind of, right? At the very least it’s ironic in the Alanis Morrisette sense of the word...
According to the California Dental Association (CDA), gum recession (gum tissue pulling away from your teeth, exposing the roots) is fairly common, especially among adults over the age of 40. (Gellar is 46.) In facty, the CDA suggests that three quarters of adults have some form of it, but in most cases it isn’t noticeable and doesn’t cause an significant discomfort or dental issues. Receding gums is often just be one of those things that happens with normal aging, but it is can also be caused by periodontal (gum) disease and, indeed, aggressive toothbrushing. This condition can be prevented by brushing your teeth regularly with a soft toothbrush with mild-to-moderate pressure.
Gotta keep those fangs looking sharp, ladies!
