You can only hold a smile for so long after that its only teeth…Chuck Palahniuk
I couldn’t help but laugh when I came across this quote as it reminded me of a very dear patient now friend of mine. Let’s call her K.
K is the head of a very large pod casting company and I see her stories on Instagram very often. However, while viewing a story of hers I realized that something wasn’t right. I immediately messaged her asking her the reason. As fate would have it she responded saying that she was just going to get in touch as she needed my help. She was in the middle of a lot of meetings and shoots and she couldn’t be herself. An existential statement of such nature worried me. She later told me her front tooth had chipped and she couldn’t smile anymore without looking funny. It was hampering her work and she was just looking for some time when she could come see me.
As soon as she came in, I was able to assess the damage. Her tooth was weakened by decay and had broken off while eating. However, we were in a good space, as the decay had not yet caused major damage which would have led to a root canal. All this required was a painless dental composite filling, which was completed in 30 minutes.
What she said next really opened my eyes to the psychology of certain patients. She said before this incident she had no clue about how important tooth shape and size were to a person’s overall aesthetics. She told me that before her tooth chipped, she never really bothered looking at her smile but the minute she realized her tooth was broken it felt like a piece of her soul had died along with it.
Never before has a dental filling given me such an immense amount of pride and satisfaction. Not only did I restore her functionality but her confidence as well. It’s amazing how small changes can have such meaningful impacts on people and I was glad to be a part of that positive change in her life.