Ignorant Parents

I am thirteen. Health and dental care is free in the UK, where I live. But for some reason, my parents can’t be bothered to register us into a dentist, so I’ve only been once in my life. I keep reminding them and they never book us in.

My brothers never brush their teeth. It’s disgusting, yet when I tell them to, my parents scream at me not to parent them, and that I’m only a child and my opinion doesn’t matter.

When I was crying in pain in the bathroom because I had a really bad toothache, my dad decides it was a good idea to shout at me about why I hadn’t done the dishes, although I do them every night and my nine year old brother never has to help do anything. He asked me why I was crying and I told him that my teeth were killing me, and that it’s not fair I can’t have nice teeth because they can’t be monitored by a dentist. So he sent me to bed basically so that he didn’t have to feel bad.

I’m already saving up for new teeth when I’m older. I’ve done my best to keep them clean, brushing more than twice a day and using mouthwash, but they’re still yellow and have many cavities, as I was never taught about brushing your teeth as a child.

Everybody moaning about having braces, going to the dentist—I would do anything to be in your position.