Grin and Bear It

When I was seven years old, I got pushed down on the playground and lost half of a front tooth. I had a false tooth put in that lasted until I was 18. By that time, the tooth was way too small and needed to be replaced. The temporary they put in while waiting for a permanent to be made was perfect. It matched my other teeth in size and color. Unfortunately, when the permanent came, it didn't match at all. It was the wrong size (too wide), the wrong color (too yellow), and it was black on the top because of metal it had inside. I often wondered if they accidentally gave me someone else's tooth and it always bothered me. 

Over the years, several dentists recommend that I get it replaced and my mom always wanted me to get it done. I just never had the money to do so. Finally on this trip, after almost 30 years with this ugly tooth, my mom convinced me to have it replaced. She took me to her amazing dentist, Dr. McKell, in Provo. (I used to babysit his kids when they were little.) He and his great staff spent three hours grinding off the old false tooth and uncovering the tooth below.

I looked like a real red neck once it was removed.

Actually, part of the three hours was also spent getting a back tooth ready for a cap. This tooth had broken in half and I had been warned by another dentist that I was really close to losing it, so we decided to get it covered as well.

I was fitted with a temporary cap while the new permanent tooth was made. This was done last week prior to the triathlon, so I was a little nervous that it would come off, but it did fine. The color wasn't a perfect match, but it was only temporary.

Today we went back for the permanent tooth. The color wasn't perfect, so we went back to the lab to have the tooth stained a little bit. What was supposed to be a quick visit ended up being another three hours!

Before

After

I'm so happy with the new tooth. You can't even tell which one is false anymore. Dr. McKell is an amazing dentist, plus he made sure it was all painless. (Although my mouth is pretty sore now that all the numbing has worn off!)

The back tooth looks and feels great too.

It is such a relief to finally have this done. I should have done it years ago! Thanks, Mom!