The Chipped Teeth

　　《365个英语小故事》:实用简洁的小故事，都是日常生活小故事，在学习英语的同时了解美国文化，循序渐进，轻松掌握。

　　Dont get your teeth veneered, Elmers girlfriend said. I know a girl who did that, and she has had bad breath ever since.

　　Elmer had never heard of such a thing. Thats ridiculous, he said. Veneers are made of plastic. Plastic doesnt give you bad breath.

　　Hannah asked him if he had ever used a public phone right after some stranger had talked on it. The plastic phone stinks from their breath, she said. Why do you always have to argue with me? He told her that he didnt argue with hershe was the one who always argued with him.

　　Elmer saw his dentist a week later. He asked if veneers could cause bad breath. The dentist told him that it was possible, because plastic can retain odor. He said a more common cause of bad breath from dental work was fillings. Several patients had come to him because they thought they had gotten bad breath from new fillings. He replaced the fillings with different material, and their bad breath went away.

　　Well, should I get veneers for my two front teeth? Elmer asked. I used to have tiny chips in each tooth. Now, those chips are bigger. His dentist told him that applying veneers would require destroying too much enamel, which the two teeth were already deficient in. Ill bet you used to suck on lemons, he said. Elmer nodded.

　　His dentist suggested grinding down the chipped areas a little bit so that their edges wouldnt be so jagged. The grinding, accompanied by a burning odor, took only a couple of minutes. When Elmer ran his tongue over his new teeth, they felt nice and smooth. So he decided that the $100 dentist bill was probably worth it. More importantly, he wouldnt have to worry about losing his girlfriend because of a couple of veneers.