Published August 12, 2026
my teeth don't feel right in my mouth anymore.
the dentist grinds my tooth down and asks me if it feels right.
it doesn't. he does it again. it still doesn't feel right.
scientists have discovered a third set of teeth, lurking in our DNA, unexpressed.
an injection can bring them into being.
mice have regrown their teeth.
what is it like, to be a mouse and have your teeth plucked out
and then be pricked in the gums and then find the teeth growing back?
do the new teeth feel right in their small mouths?
i am so excited by regrowing teeth.
a clean slate. a free pass.
my grandfather had lost all his teeth by his 20s.
my parents used that story to scare us into regular brushing.
i tell everybody i know about the mice and there is rapture in my voice.
they do not match my excitement.
what if it goes wrong, they say.
what if you end up growing too many teeth in the wrong places, they say.
i think about how afraid i have been lately.
i think about becoming sharp all over, biting with my skin.
there is an ulcer in my mouth and i press my tongue up against it
i go to the hygienist and they carve out slots between my teeth.
i press my tongue up against the pinching slots.
i must floss every day.
the plaque regrows.
Points:
Time spent:
IP address:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Mark this comment as a review? Points will be awarded to the poster.
Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
138,859 Literary Works • 672,349 Reviews
Hello there, human! I'm reviewing using the YWS S'more Method today!
Shalt we commence with the daunting S’more?
Top Graham Cracker - This is a poem about going to the dentist, except this new treatment causes the regrowth of teeth, which is a good thing…until it grows in the wrong places.
Slightly Burnt Marshmallow - I have no recommendations to make as of right now, but if you would like to edit this, you may.
Chocolate Bar - I love the way that you describe the teeth possibly growing in other areas of our body, because we don’t truly understand our bodies and the idea of what could happen is quite frightening. I also like how we don’t know if the fear is justified or not. Is something happening or just in their mind?
Closing Graham Cracker - Overall, a disquieting poem about our odd teeth. I have enjoyed reading this and I will be certain to read other works from you. I appreciate the reviews and…
I wish you a fabulous day/night! ^v^
On the surface level, this reads like a reflection on the state of healthcare in the UK because literally I don't remember the last time I went to the dentist, I've been unable to find one that's accepting new patients in my town, and when I did go, they charged me for the least helpful session ever lol.. But on a deeper level, it seems to be about being scared that even a clean slate doesn't really erase anything; it just regrows where you thought you fixed. It kind of feels like very understated body horror; nothing overtly horrible happens, but you closely track wrongness in the body.
I had to google this to find if this is true, and the fact it is has made my teeth feel funny
It almost feels like you are wondering this about yourself, but it's easier to envision it through a third party, a little mouse. Though later on the narrator says that they are excited by regrowing teeth, and people are warning about what if it goes wrong, we never get the narrator's inner thoughts on them having this procedure done on herself.
"that'll be £27.90, see you in six months" is such a mundane, admin-y title, and putting it up against everything the poem is about creates this nice dissonance from the deeper thinking going on.
One thing I thought, though it still works well, is you say 'they say' when the rest of the characters appearing in the poem are more specifically named: the grandfather, the mice, the hygienist, scientists etc. This might be an intentional choice, but it could also tighten that section a little.
Another brilliant poem <3
Oh mood :/ I only successfully got on a dentist's books by going to the next city over. It's truly dire.
The subtle horror of experiencing these shifts in your body and not being able to go back was EXACTLY what I was aiming for, I'm so glad it came across! Thank you so much!
hi there, and happy Wednesday from team tortoise and a knight of the green room. Your title was interesting when paired with the horror genre; let's see what thats all about.
You use the phrase of "feel right" three times in the opening. It feels a little unpolished more than emphatic. I think it's the first line for me that feels a bit unnatural, and maybe even completely useless. Try cutting it out and see if it affects the storytelling negatively.
I know there arent any paragraph breaks, but I would suggest one here. It's a bit of whiplash jumping into mice.
im not even sure why, but this little aside made me chuckle. It just feels to true to real life for parents to use something terrifying to convince their kids to brush their teeth.
consider using question marks? You already have ditched using capitalized words, so using question marks mid-sentence wouldn't feel out of the place to me.
This is...an interesting metaphor. Have there been no actual users of this surgery? Seems like an irrational fear, which does feet the poem.
Does plaque grow? Maybe metaphorically, but it's more like buildup than growth like a plant? I think you could maybe change that word.
I would also love to see the title thrown in somewhere here at the end. It really would fit the experimental nature of the poem for it to be so cheap/ not covered by insurance.
Overall a fun, weird poem. I would have liked to see a bit more of why the MC felt their teeth didnt feel right, to convince them to get all new teeth? But I do like your style and kind of dry tone of voice. It feels very post-apocalyptic gallows type of funny.
~Messy
Thank you so much for the thoughtful & helpful feedback!
Fun fact, the regrowing teeth thing was not something I made up - nobody has in fact had this surgery yet because afaik it's still in clinical trials lol
The development that inspired this poem: https://www.dentistrytoday.com/research ... or-humans/
A more recent & detailed take: https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20 ... wing-teeth
well that's terrifying xD