A 12-year dental odyssey has reached its conclusion. We hope. As an 8-year-old, my son had a school playground mishap that left both of his top front teeth chipped. We would not discover for a few more years how severely the one on the left had been injured. Eventually it had to be removed. I never imagined he would still be dealing with recovery well after graduating from high school.
Meanwhile there were braces and other dental issues, as various fake and non-functional tooth substitutes held the space for his eventual implant. The implant couldn’t happen until he was no longer growing. Even then it was a months-long process involving repeated visits to both an oral surgeon and his regular dentist.
I am thrilled to announce that after 12 years, he once again has a functional front top tooth. It looks good, too. You wouldn’t know it wasn’t the original.
To celebrate, I am repeatedly serving foods he could only gaze at longingly before. Tacos! Corn on the cob! He’s also eating his apple a day, because he no longer has to slice it up. He can bite right in. And he no longer has to be that weirdo who cuts up his pizza with a knife and fork.
Hurray for front teeth! (Knocking on wood.)
Gen BLT 