Don’t Be Embarrassed by Your Pearly Whites

I remember when I was at school, and they would have a dentist come once a year to talk to us. He would advise us of the importance of brushing twice a day and how to use dental floss. We often ignored these talks; we were only a few years old. The most exciting thing about his visits would be that we would walk away with a great goody bag filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth wash, and even dental floss.

Getting Older

Getting older, you think back to those talks and wish you had listened, paid attention, and followed the dentist simple rules. I have been careful with my teeth, don’t get me wrong. I am not lucky enough to have white teeth, they have always been a cream color, but I have looked after them like gold.

I brush for two full minutes each morning and night, and I use my dental floss a couple of times a day, but I have still been unlucky. I have spent a lot of time at the dentist, having fillings, root canal treatments, and crowns.

Some Things You Cannot Control

I must admit I was not happy going to the dentist with agonizing toothache regularly. Why was this happening to me; someone who took care of their teeth the way I do. But I guess some people don’t have strong teeth no matter what they do.

Even though I continued to get unwelcome fillings and nasty crowns, I continued to care for my teeth as I always did, the dentist confirmed I was caring for them correctly, so still today I am not sure what was wrong. Up to this point, I was so lucky that all the fillings and crowns were located to the back of my mouth and not the front.

D-Day

Then the day came for my regular dental check-up, I had a good spell; I hadn’t needed dental treatment for six months, and everything seemed to be going along smoothly. That dreaded day at the dentist was the one I will never forget.

Within minutes he advised that my front teeth were not wasting away and needed filling; of course, these fillings didn’t last long, and before I knew it, I had four crowns in the front of my mouth. This was all well and done, but because of the small amount of tooth that remained, these kept falling out one after the other, leaving me with an embarrassing space in my mouth for weeks while new crowns were made time and time again.

Eventually, we got to the point where my dentist, who I had known for years, sat me down to discuss my options. Replacing the crowns was an expensive exercise, and they weren’t working for me anymore. We had a choice. I could have a bridge or go for dentures. I was horrified, I am not old in any way, but the expense of continually replacing the front teeth was working out to a lot of money each year. I could have bought a nice new car with that money.

We opted for the dentures route, but there is something I was never comfortable with. I was convinced everyone knew I had dentures. I couldn’t eat certain foods and was so self-conscious when we went out for dinner in the fear I couldn’t eat the food in front of me. Now I am sure I would have been fine; for me, it was a mental thing and not an actual problem with the dentures themselves. I heard about cosmetic dental surgery and went to find out about it, since having it done my life is back to normal, my confidence has soared, and I am happy to smile, showing off my beautiful pearly whites.

Don’t be embarrassed by your pearly whites, all on four is a radical surgery that has made a significant impact on my life. It’s not only built up my self-esteem, but I can live my life the way I want to without fear of my dentures giving me unwanted problems.