Thursday, January 03, 2008

Indian Teeth

Well, yet another of my children have had the blessing of inheriting their great grandmother's Cherokee DNA and having the 3 and even 4 rooted molars. This time it is Jewel. She has FOUR!

She had to have a root canal today. The dentist wasn't even sure he wanted to touch her, but it had to be done. After, several attempts, he finally got her numbed enough to work. That is another fairly common trait, not being able to properly numb us.

What does this indian grand daughter look like?

Not much like her grandmother, Nikotai Cherokee, as she was called.




31 comments:

Brenda said...

I am a Cherokee too and I have bad teeth. Is that how it is for us?

Rita Loca said...

brenda, yes, it is all part of the DNA. And shovel teeth and a few other unique things.

WomanHonorThyself said...

what a beauty!..arg I had root canal a couple of years ago..ouch!..good luck hun!

Dawn said...

She's lovely - in spite of her difficult teeth! Hope it goes well.

Unknown said...

Oh no-so it came to that huh? I'll call in a few hours to check up on her.

Jackie said...

I'll have to post on my experiences of having my Cherokee teeth pulled. It was awful. Costa Rican dentists have no clue about three root on molars, let me tell ya. Ouch.

Thursday's Child said...

Let me just say...OUCH!

Charles said...

I am one of those few lucky people who had a painless, and easy time and a quick recovery with mine. I pray she does also.

Anonymous said...

Praying for you, Jewel!

Brooke said...

I feel her pain. Orthodontic surgery and braces for four years for me.

Anonymous said...

not a great way to start the new year :)

nevertheless Happy New Year to you all

marine's words said...

I think we share the same DNA I have already had 3 root canal and more than likey need another one the dentist can't get over how samll my mouth is and how BIG my morlas are!!( is there something wrong with me) and they can never num my gums enough I still feel it !!it hurts poor thing I know how she feels.marina

~~Deby said...

aaaARGH...I am dental phobic...or *mental-dental* as my husband says......
This also seems to run in some of my family...bad teeth....would rather have a mammogram ANY DAY.
Deby

Anonymous said...

So sorry, Jewel!

Me thinks, JM , that daughter look like you!

Beach Girl said...

Hoping for a speedy recovery. She's a beautiful young lady.

Vanessa

Sarah Joy said...

Huh. Interesting. My husband's teeth look like that! His ancestors are Mexican Indians. My mother in law has tons of horror stories from the dentist, because she says they never get it numb. Makes sense!

Gayle said...

Hi, Rita.

I had no idea that Cherokee's had such a difficult time with their teeth or being anesthesized. One lives and learns!

Poor Jewel. It's not a great start to the New Year, but looking on the bright side, perhaps she is getting the bad stuff behind her and the rest of the year will be a breeeze! She is indeed very beautiful. :)

groovyoldlady said...

I am part Sioux (just one stinking part shy of getting a grant for college. Stupid relatives - musta been them hillbillies in West Virginia that shortchanged me.)

I have scooped incisors, but happy and healthy molars. Maybe my molars are Irish...

Rita Loca said...

groovy,
I could actually register to be in the Cherokee Nation, the Estern Cherokees. This always gives me a great laugh when people call me "racist" or tell me I have no business doing missionary work among the tribes, that they prefer to be left alone, bla, bla, bla...HA!!! I guess the red hair fools 'em!
I have the shovel teeth also, and the 4 rooted molars, but all Irish skin and hair...and temper!!!

AmberTheBlog.com said...

I'm part Indian, too...exactly which type I am not certain. But I found out that there's a shelf or something on the back of my head, my tear ducts point downwards, and my toes have a gap all because of it! LOL

Rita Loca said...

amber, me too!!!!

MightyMom said...

Jungle Mom, My Grandma and I have the shovel teeth, she called em "scoop-shovel" teeth. I have no idea how many roots my molars have but I do know that Grandma died with all her own teeth (at 82) so I don't think she had many issues with them. I have the very long fingers and high cheekbones of the Indian in my blood, now my hair has turned dark (from it's original tow-blond) but my blue eyes just fool everyone! Funny, I'm very pale, but if I get out in the sun I tan like an olive skinned person and I very rarely burn. My Irish/Dutch husband was amazed!!

Rita Loca said...

mighty mom,
My son and daughter, both very blond, also tan nicely and rarely burn. If they do burn, it is tanned by the next day. My red head and I do not tan and only burn, burn, burn!

Michael said...

I didn't know that the Indians had hereditary bad teeth; interesting. My sympathies to your daughter, because root canals are no fun.

After her second, my mom told her dentist that for what she paid, she could have put a downpayment on the Jaguar she'd always wanted. The dentist told her she had, and it was green. He had a sense of humor, our family dentist...

Ethnic genetic flaws are interesting. Before I got married, my wife and I both had our family histories taken, looking for Tay-Sachs (Ashkenazi Jewish). And I have Crohn's (also an Ashkenazi thing).

What's really funny is, on my honeymoon in Michigan's UP, at the B&B, another couple there started asking me about Ojibway burial rites. Based on appearance, they thought I'd know....

Rebecca said...

It sounds painful. I pray it works out all right.

American Crusader said...

Very pretty granddaughter. Have you traced back your mDNA? I recently submitted a sample for both mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome to find my ancestral DNA trail. I'll let you know the results.

Anonymous said...

Got those "sinodonty" teeth also from my Cherokee and Lakota roots. The insurance wouldn't pay for the third root, cost me an extra $75.

BTW - Shovel teeth aren't bad teeth, the shape makes them stronger than regular teeth.
The problem is that there are still a lot of dentists don't know what to do about them.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I'm a cousin too. I found your site after googling my gr. gr. grandmother and grandfather, William and Nichati England. My Gr. grandmother is Nichati and William's daughter Hannah, then my grandmother Ruby Crockett then my father Josh. I have seen some of these pictures and my father has one of william and Nichati together. My father remembers Grammaw Nic, but his memories are being taken away from by dementia, sad. P.S. I'm in WV.

Anonymous said...

from a Mother..
My husband is half Cherokee. I have a son with 3 perfectly placed bottom front teeth. Matter of fact I didn't even realize it till a Dentist commented on it when my son was in his teens. Is this a Cherokee trait? I heard it was, but haven't seen anything else about it.

Unknown said...

I had my molars out when I was 17. They had 4 roots each but were straight. Lucky for me. I've been told all of my life I look different. My high cheek bones and low forehead are probably from all of my indian blood on both sides of my family. My grandmother Ellen (Rose) England and great grandmother Bestie (Lester) England) really looked like Nichatie. See me on facebook under Sheree (Rose) Stahl. I will be posting pictures soon of my grannys.

Anonymous said...

I have much - but part Cherokee inheritence.. Our teeth aren't great - and I have been hard to numb before and even went without any anaesthetic since I have chemical sensitivities of different sorts - I think that's Native American trait, too to not be able to metabolize things like that....My oldes son had the spaced front teeth - of which I read that's a cherokee trait as well - I have crooked little fingers as well - and am trying to figure out what the scooped incisors look like - I just had a tooth pulled...I tried to save my teeth for all of my life with root canals, crowns, etc...but now don't have the dental insurance - what a job to get that root out of there for the dentist. Also can't say that I miss the metal when it falls out of the teeth...Know that can cause problems as well especially for people without the enzymes or whatever to metabollize things...So what exactly do the scooped incisors look like? Thanks.