Twenty Years After The Slap
Question:
Dr. Crapo: I drive taxi for a living so I’m interacting with people every day, all day. When I was a kid I had the worst dental experience on record. I went to have a tooth pulled and was scared to death. The dentist stuck a needle into my gums and must have hit a nerve because I jumped and he screamed. “$!#*% kid sit still," he said. He completely freaked me out.
Then before the freezing took he started on the tooth. I screamed again, and again he swore, but this time he slapped me. He had me pried open, so he started again and yarded out the tooth. Long story short, I didn’t see another dentist for twenty years. When I went back I was in terrible shape. I had root canals, crowns, and finally a lower denture. I’ve got nine teeth left on top and a lower denture that I can’t stand. It fits but I sound like a wounded goat when I talk – so I don’t wear them. But it’s not good because though I’m only fifty-five and my mouth looks like Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies. I need something that gives me confidence, something that will stay put and something that looks good when I talk and smile.
Answer: I’ve only heard of stories as egregious as this. Thankfully I know no one who would perpetrate such uncontrolled emotion on a child or anyone else for that matter.
Last week I saw a gentleman that has just your situation in reverse (but not the story thankfully). He lost his upper teeth due to neglect but has enough teeth that are repairable, to make a full lower complement. His palate does not suit a denture and the one he has falls out unexpectedly causing distress and embarrassment. Both you and he will be able to have a permanent bridge placed in about four hours.
When you leave the office you will have fully functional, beautifully balanced, fixed teeth. You will heal quickly and be able to taste your food as if you have a second set of permanent teeth. You will be able to brush and floss your new bridge just as you would a bridge fixed to natural teeth and your speech will be as it was when you had a full complement of lower and upper teeth.
There will be no covering you mouth when you smile and you will have the confidence that there will be no inadvertent accidents. In all my years of dentistry, I’ve never seen anything this transformational – even the beauty of well-placed veneers are not as confidence building and comforting as these “teeth-in-a-day”.
If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation.