Three Years and Billions of Dollars Later

My dental work is complete. DO NOT READ this quick backstory if you are dental-squeamish: I had two teeth in the front pulled, I thought I was going to get two implants and a lot of crowns, but two bone grafts failed, as did the gum surgery that followed, so now I am sporting a newly installed bridge. That looks beautiful, I think. It took THREE YEARS. And cost trillions of dollars.

I should take a better shot, with my real camera instead of these webcam shots. Maybe I should make a movie? Because these teeth are works of art. Seriously. I’ve been studying them, and somehow they managed to match how teeth seem to be more translucent at the bottom than at the top. And that’s just one great thing about them. NYU Dental School worked for me! (I shudder to think how much all of this would have cost if I hadn’t had the work done at the dental school.)

Teeth

Stacy Horn

I've written six non-fiction books, the most recent is Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York.

View all posts by Stacy Horn →

9 thoughts on “Three Years and Billions of Dollars Later

  1. Wow! Looks great. Especially like the coloring. You have a fantastic smile now.

    I have some bottom teeth problems now, two that need crowns. Dread it, plus even with dental ins. my share is still high. Have to get it done soon though, since I do like to eat. Hah!

  2. Dental work is SCARY expensive these days (she says, anticipating paying for a new crown next Tuesday).

    You look GREAT!! They did a beautiful job and you were a trouper for lasting through three years of pain and suffering. Might I ask why your front teeth had to be pulled in the first place? I’ve got to get in the habit of taking better care of my teeth.

  3. I broke one of my front teeth and I’ve had a cap on it since I was nine years old. There’s been steady bone loss ever since, which apparently affected the tooth next to it. I believe I did everything I could to prevent this (except one thing, I know it’s gross, but I hate brushing my teeth before bedtime and I’ve never done this!!). But I brush, floss, use a proxy brush, get teeth cleaning 3 or 4 times a year, etc.

  4. I totally didn’t think it was anything you did. Like many health issues, I believe your teeth are just your teeth and largely, things are gonna go the way they’re gonna go. (My sister and I were raised in the same environment and I had cavities in all my baby/permanent teeth, while she never had one!)
    Mainly I was just curious how long you’d been suffering from all this. I hope your teeth feel better now in addition to looking great (which they do!).

  5. Oh, I didn’t think you were saying that. I was just lamenting that I couldn’t prevent this.

    I wasn’t really suffering, and it wasn’t until the year before I began all this that I started to feel discomfort. Recovering from all the failed surgeries was the totally NO FUN part and mother of god am I happy that’s all over!!

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