21 years...

all of us are on some sort of a journey, whether it be a life journey, a spiritual journey, a random adventure, or something else. Everyone's journey is unique and usually leaves lasting memories.... good and bad.

I've been on a specific journey for most of my life, one that a lot of people don't know about, but most of my close friends do. Exactly 21 years, (June 1989), I was in a terrible biking accident that left me "dentally" (it is a word) disfigured. I've never really loved my smile because of this. I have had many different appliances and apparatus put in my mouth to help correct the problem. I was in braces by the 4th grade and done with them by 6th, well before most of my friends were even getting braces. At the age of 13 I finally got a semi-permanent fix, a Maryland bridge that would keep my front 6 teeth in the exact same spot for years. It was great... until I grew out of it. You know how a lot of kids have big teeth and then they grow into them? I was kind of the opposite.

Finally when I was in college, with the help of my Step-Mom was started making some progress towards a true solution. It was our wedding that really got things going. In the words of Amy, "no way is my Step-Daughter getting married and not having a perfect smile!" So she hooked me up with a dentist in Charleston, the father of two of her students, and we spent the entire day in his office as he made me beautiful veneers. And I had a "perfect" smile for our wedding.

But that didn't last, as shortly thereafter they found that too much damage had been sustained by my remaining front tooth (I lost one in the accident) and it had to come out too. Bummer! Then came all my surgeries to repair and replace the bone that I had lost over the years. I had two bone graphs and a block graph before the bone was finally thick enough and steady to receive the implants. Things were right on track... then came Miss Ava. I was 6 months pregnant when they wanted to do my implants, but decided not to risk possible infection, and so we put things off again.

This past October I finally got my implants. We had to wait for about 6 weeks until we could do anything else, and ended up pushing my caps off a bit more due to money. These surgeries and procedures aren't cheap people! We're talking $6K+ just for the implants and caps, that doesn't include all the other things I've had done. Anyway, after our tax return and with a generous gift from my Step-Dad and Mom, we were able to move ahead.

So this past Monday, I made my final trip to the Dental School and had my caps put on. YAY!!!!!! My Dad called the night before and asked if Na, Ava and I wanted to come down to the beach, they are there right now, but I told him there was no way I was missing my appointment on Monday. The procedure took about an hour, and after saying a slightly sad good bye to Debbie and Dr. Lovell, I left with hopes of never returning.

I must say I am quite pleased with the results. What do you think?

Yes, they are a bit big, but I'll get used to them. They aren't too chiclet-ish. One of the things that happened over the years is that my incisors on either side of my front ones have turned out slightly creating a wider gap. Thus my new teeth have to be a bit bigger/wider. I've also got a bit of a lisp, but that too I will get used to and get over.

I experienced several "new" sensations on Monday; flossing my front teeth, biting into foods and feeling them/hot/cold on my palate. All, very weird at first. Like I said, it's been 21 years since I did a lot of these things. I haven't quite decided how I feel about bitting into an apple or corn on the cob, but I may have to try it... (old habbits are hard to quit).

So my 21 year journey has finally come to an end. It left lots of memories, some of them quite painful. But somehow I am thankful for this journey and experience; it truly has shaped my life and who I am today.