Wearing Someone Else's Dentures...

Ok, so I have a confession of sorts…I wore someone else’s teeth, well “tooth” to be exact. It all started about 3 months ago. I took a bite out of a bologna sandwich, and unbelievably one of the front/ side teeth fell right out of the “denture”. I called the dentist’s office in horror to which they replied “it’s completely common, happens all the time”. What?!   Common!? “Come down, and the technician will glue your tooth back into the denture, no problem , they said”. Well, I was only months into a new full time job, so taking time off to drive 2 hours to and from the dentist was not an option at the time. So I improvised and popped the tooth back in, and believe it or not, the tooth seemed to be held secure (even without glue!) Besides, I rationalized that I would find time, soon enough to get into the dentist. I just had to be careful for the next few days or more. Flash forward about 2 weeks later, I was riding bicycles with my daughters, and as I was complimenting one of them, the tooth flew out! It landed somewhere off the bicycle trail in a grassy, pebble laden area. I searched on my knees for several minutes before realizing that the tooth was gone. This happened on a Friday evening and the following morning I was to be taking my daughter on a field trip with her school, a field trip that I had promised for months that I wouldn’t miss. But how could I go around anyone (let alone my daughters classmates and teacher) toothless??? The dentist was not open on weekends; I was screwed (for lack of better words). My husband and I contemplated for hours what we could do about the situation. I considered making a fake tooth out of bubble gum, desperate I know. Then an idea hit me, but it was a strange one. You see, months before my beloved mother in law (and best friend) Jeannie passed away. And one go =f the things that we got when she passed was her dentures. Not there was no way I could, or would wear her teeth, after all, they were a completely different shape and size than mine. But, could it be possible to use just one of the teeth from her denture to glue into mine? I ran the idea by my husband and while repulsed by it, he also knew it was our only option. He couldn’t bring himself to do the “deed”, so it was left up to me. I spent several minutes, maybe 30 or more in the garage just staring at her teeth. It felt wrong, even barbaric. The teeth were firmly glued in place, so I knew I would have to break one loose and it bothered me a great deal. My mom-in-law Jean wouldn’t have been bothered by any of this. I was only 16 when I came into her family, and was quite sheltered. Jean helped bring me into adulthood; she taught me everything I needed to know about love, and family. Jeannie always dressed with such style! Picture Cyndi lauper mixed with lady gaga. I envied her style, and borrowed her clothes often. She was timeless, and got along with any age. Everyone loved her, and she supported everyone. So as I sat there, about to do the unimaginable, I realized that Jeannie would’ve wanted me to do this. Jeannie would’ve loved to have helped me in this time of emergency, no matter the cost. One….Two…Three…I cracked the tooth from its base. It broke, but left enough to do what I needed. I handed the small ivory colored “stone” to my husband and he used his cutting wheel to shape it to size. Then we fitted and super glued the tooth into my dentures. It didn’t fit perfectly, in fact it hung down a millimeter farther than my other teeth and it was a shade darker. Upon inspection, I thought I looked goofy with this new crooked grill. I felt like Austin Powers, Groovy baby! But I sucked it up, and went to my daughters school function, and then to work that following Monday. No-one seemed to notice my new crooked smile, and that was all the more comforting. As the weeks went by, my new tooth stayed just fine no matter what I ate. In fact, the super glue held spectacularly. And over time, I began to fall in love with that crooked tooth, and my imperfect smile. So perhaps that’s why I skipped my final denture appointment in October. I knew they’d fix my teeth, and discard Jeannie’s tooth. I avoided the dentist in November and December too. I just wasn’t ready to give up my smile. My dentures were fitting perfectly, why mess with it? But I knew that I needed my final set of dentures, after all, these were temporary. So last Friday, I did the deed so to speak. I went for my final appointment, and got my final set of teeth. They did get rid of Jeannie’s tooth, but it was replaced by a proper fitting, identically colored one. My smile is even better now, my teeth are not bulky anymore, and my face shape is back to what I looked like as a teenager. I am happy, and I will never forget the final act that Jeannie did to help me! XoXo  -Tiffany