Let me tell you the epic tale...of how I lost my front tooth.
So if you’ve been following me closely on instagram since the beginning of August, you’ll have seen the whole terrifying and quickly escalating situation regarding my front tooth.
If you haven’t, I’m here today to share the whole story. It began...late July. I was eating pizza (my favorite food hath betrayed me) when my front tooth suddenly jutted out forward when I bit into my pizza slice. It didn't come out, it just snapped forward.
It was still attached to my gums and I was able to “snap” it back into place. It was terrifying. Like THAT ISN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. It didn’t hurt at all so for a second I legitimately thought I had imagined it. But this snapping in and out of place continued to happen over the next week and I became so freaked out that I was convinced my tooth was going to fall out in the middle of the night and I was going to choke on it (yeah, I have an overactive imagination).
But by the time I scheduled my dentist appointment a few days later (Dentist told me not to worry), I convinced myself that everything was fine. No biggie, he could probably just replace the cap on it and call it a done deal!
(My right front tooth had had an extensive history of dental work starting when I was probably 12 and I hit it on the bedpost and messed with all the nerves in it! From there I had a root canal and a cap put on the tooth to save it. Well, they tried anyway…)
Come the next Wednesday, I go and see the dentist and he basically says I need a tooth implant. My tooth is done-zo and I need to essentially have a fake one put in and the current one removed surgically. “It seems fine for now” were his famous last words as less than a half hour later I was (very carefully) eating some soft (and what I thought were safe) In-n-Out fries while driving home.
Two bites in and my tooth just came out. Just got stuck in a fry as I sat, open-mouthed and pulled the heck over to the next freeway exit and got my wits about me. I was in a mild amount of shock as I had just convinced myself (thanks to the dentist) that my tooth would be fine until I could schedule the implant surgery. BUT NOPE.
I found the tooth amongst my fries and looked in the rearview mirror at myself and busted up laughing. Yup, I looked exactly how I imagined anyone would look without a front tooth. Total hillbilly status. I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it - like what on earth are the odds!?
Several deep breaths later and I tried calling the dental office (who of course were all at lunch). Instead of waiting an hour for anyone to get back to me, I called the surgeon directly. Getting an implant was no longer a question on if I needed it, but how soon I could!
It’s not something I’d normally say about Covid, but I couldn’t help but be thankful everyone is required to wear masks in public. So I could wait awhile for the surgery if need be, however the implant process is a FOUR-MONTH LONG PROCESS so the sooner the better in my opinion! (You have to wait 3-4 months for the screw area to heal before they put in the crown or the fake tooth).
Miraculously the surgery called me back ten minutes later saying they’d just had a cancellation for the next morning at 9am to do both the consult AND the surgery! Talk about a lucky break!
So, unexpectedly hit with potentially being put under for a surgery in less than 24 hours, I drove home and got myself prepped to stay at my parent’s house in Auburn and headed back there the next day.
$2,200 (of course my insurance doesn’t cover implants) and a nerve-wracking half hour later of having the remaining root of my tooth pulled out and a giant metal screw being inserted in its place, the surgery was complete.
It wasn’t altogether painful, more just freaking terrifying as the surgeon literally is putting all his weight behind yanking out your tooth remains and I just couldn’t help but panic over him missing and breaking my nose or knocking out all my other teeth (a legit fear now after this whole experience) and dropping teeth shards down my throat but it was all fine. I couldn’t afford the extra $500 to be put under so I dealt with it and it really didn’t take long as the surgeon was efficient and good at his profession! (Shoutout to Auburn Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery! 🙌)
My gums bled for way longer than seemed normal (they were still slightly bloody as I went to sleep that night but finally stopped the next morning). I got fitted for a “flipper” (false tooth retainer until the real one would be made) that afternoon and got a lot of fun drugs. I managed some applesauce and yogurt for dinner and drove home the next day.
From there I got to spend a pleasant (totally sarcastic) next 3 days staying elevated (only allowed to sit at a 45 degree angle and icing my face on and off EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES. That’s a lot of ice, you guys! I loaded up on jello, yogurt, ice-cream and for the next two weeks and ate very VERY carefully all the while (not taking any chances!).
I now am hitting the one-month post-op mark where I will go in for another checkup! I can now eat most things although anything like a sandwich needs to be cut up and I can’t eat anything crunchy like bagels, granola bars, chips, etc. But I’m probably all the healthier for that to be honest!
I've still got a good 2-3 more months of being front-toothless, but I’m not too concerned to be frank- I have a fabulous Halloween costume picked out (I’m going to the one of the hillbillies from The Amanda Show and I’m only sad I can’t show it off in-person at a Halloween party this year). Plus, a missing tooth is a great conversation started online and we’re still needing to wear those masks, so it’s definitely not as nerve-wracking as it could be!
So yeah, there’s the epic saga of how I lost my front tooth. Pretty crazy start to the month but we’re well on our way to getting it all taken care of! I just have a real toothy grin now and I can’t say it doesn’t fit my childish spirit ;)
