The Final Four/The Fantastic Four

No, this post isn't about basketball or the Marvel series. 

This post is actually about me and something that most of you already know. 

But, for my own sake I wanted to document this and have it written down. 

It's been a long road and we are finally, Lord willing, at the end.

Also, this one isn't for the faint of heart. If you don't like the dentist, dental work, things of that nature just stop reading now! Also, if awkward selfies (with possible missing teeth) make you feel uncomfortable, again, just stop reading now ;) 

 I was 10 & in the 4th grade. 

We went to see my dentist, Dr. Barkett, for a routine cleaning and they were going to take x-rays of my teeth. Let me start by saying how I never really liked going to the dentist. I can vividly remember trying to hide under tables that had cloths on them hoping that my Mom wouldn't find me and make me go to my dental appointments. Disclaimer: I was afraid of everything to be honest, but I specifically remember hiding under tables to avoid the dentist.
So when I left the dentist that day being told that my x-rays showed that almost all of my top teeth, with the exception of my canine teeth, had very little to almost no root, I was scared. I mean here I am, 10 years old and in my mind, all of my teeth are going to fall out the next day. I feel like that's solid child logic.

Although my permanent teeth have been on the mobile side for the last 16 years, I am happy to announce that they did not all fall out that very next day. We made do and I was just extremely careful with what I ate and how I ate. 

Fast forward to 2004--when I was 14 I got braces put on and we prayed that none of my teeth would fall out in the process of all the moving, bringing together, straightening, and whatever else went on during that time. I'm not kidding about us praying and hoping that none of my teeth would fall out. The day that my braces came off we all sighed with relief that none of my teeth came out with the brackets!

I only ended up having braces for about 6 months--which was a miracle because my teeth were CROOKED...to put it nicely. You can somewhat tell how crooked they were in this picture:

I really should have had them much longer. But, when you have almost non-existent roots in your teeth, they move pretty quickly. Scary...yet, kinda cool when you're 15 and get your braces off after such a short amount of time. We also discussed and decided that we weren't going for absolutely perfect because we only wanted to move the teeth as little as possible to try and keep them in for as long as we could. What 15 year old is ready for implants for her front, four teeth? Not me!

I actually found this gem. Top is the day I got my braces off and bottom is the crooked mess that they were beforehand.

From the day I got my braces off, we've had little struggles here and there. We found out quickly that I couldn't wear a regular retainer. The placement of the retainer on my teeth, paired with the lack of roots made some of my newly straightened teeth begin to "fan out". Braces again wasn't an option at that point in time so we went with plan B and that was when I was given my clear retainer on my top teeth--think invisalign but just holding them in place.
It was my security. 

I slept, ate, drank, did everything in that bad boy other than brush my teeth. I took it out to do that, and that was it. I probably went through 10-15 of those retainers over the years because of the wear and tear I would put them through. 

In 2008, my Senior year of high school, we finally took the first, big step in my "tooth journey".
We made our way to Hattiesburg to have my wisdom teeth removed and for my first tooth implant to be placed. One of my permanent teeth, the loosest one, had begun to die and was starting to gray a little bit. To me, it felt like it was hanging on by a thread. It was scary for me to even brush it.

This picture was actually the night before we went to Hattiesburg. You can see how red the gum was and how the tooth was dead/dying.

 I remember after it was removed, Mom told me that the oral surgeon told her that he barely had to pull it out, it just...came right out. YIKES. So, with missing wisdom teeth, a newly placed implant, and some "fake tooth matter" poured into my clear retainer, we made our way back home.

Typically, with implants it goes a little something like this: they remove the tooth, they place the implant. You give your jaw bone and the implant some time to heal and fuse together and while you're doing that, you wear a fake tooth on the implant site so you're not walking around toothless. After giving the gum & bone a few months to "do their thing" they uncover the implant site, and hopefully, put in the abutment and then your final crown. It's a long process by itself but mine decided to take a little longer. The gum where they placed the implant and temporary tooth turned very red over the next few months and my dental team in Hattiesburg did not feel comfortable placing the final crown until the redness in my gum lessened.

I tried everything. More flossing. Different rinses. Prescribed rinses. Special toothpastes. Nothing did the trick.

So, here we were, almost 10 years later, with my temporary tooth still in place and the one next to it feeling looser by the day. I don't know if I had mentioned this before but, my four front teeth were the ones that always felt the most mobile to me over the year. Obviously, the one that we had removed was worst and then, I guess as time went by without a tooth being beside it, the one right next to it (one of my front two) started feeling looser and looser to me over the years. It also began to lose some of its color.

Needless to say, it was time to take the plunge and get it all done.

I'll always remember my Mom telling me that since that day when I was 10 years old, she's been praying that we wouldn't have to do all of these teeth until I could handle it emotionally, financially, physically. She prayed that they would stay in my gums and that we wouldn't have any major issues or needs until we were ready.  Looking back now, we see how The Lord provided in all of those ways. He is good and His timing is perfect. 

Fast forward to 2015 when we decided to change things up and find a new team of people to take care of this and help us reach our final goal.

I found a new dentist that had done implants before and I felt very comfortable using her.
Mom and I went in for a consultation and for us to talk about what we wanted to do and make a game plan. Unfortunately, the almost 10 years of wearing a clear retainer was posing our first problem. My bite no longer met. My safety blanket of a retainer had been holding those babies in so close and tight that they hadn't met my bottom teeth for 10 years now. Not a good thing when you're wanting to eventually have four implants and a retainer-less mouth!

With that being said, the first thing we had to do was braces, again.
I know, what 26 year old wants braces? I didn't. But, I'm glad I did.
Two days before my 4th year of teaching, August 2015, I had my braces put on, top and bottom.
I'll be honest too, adult braces are painful! Or, maybe uncomfortable is a better word. I don't know if we just don't realize all of the discomfort when we're younger or if I've just turned into a big baby. Who knows. But, I was thankful the day those bad boys came off.

I have to say that Dr. Jolly and her crew were great working with me though. They were very understanding of my schedule and were great at working me in. They were also very careful and precise with handling my teeth which I so appreciate. They are one of the many people who deserve my never-ending thanks and gratitude for this milestone. 

The BIG day came in June 2016. I actually think it was the same day as Aaron & Blair's 1 year anniversary. It was a stacked day. I started the day at Dr. Jolly's office where they removed my braces. Then, I made my way to Dr. Deming's office, my Periodontist. She was the one who removed my teeth, grafted some bone, and placed the implants into the jaw. Yeah, she's awesome. We REALLY enjoyed Dr. Deming, now Dr. Jefcoat. She made me feel very comfortable that I would get the outcome we desired. Then, we took a hop, skip and a jump right back over to Dr. Jolly's office where they had made the most intense retainer that you've ever seen.
 Y'all. It's hard to give someone their four front teeth when there's nothing there to hold them in. And this might be me being vain, but I dreaded the 6 months I was going to have to wear this retainer.
It had 4 little fake teeth and some denture gum on it all with the regular silver retainer piece going across the front.
Not to mention, I was very drugged up from the implant surgery when we went back to have the retainer placed. As you can imagine, it made for an interesting visit.

My "retainered" smile with my denture gum.

I joke about it now but I don't want to sound ungrateful--they really did do a great job making a unit that looked very real and natural for those few months while my mouth healed.

So, when I took that bad boy out, all four teeth were missing.
Thankfully, as mentioned earlier, Mom's prayers were answered and we did this at a time that I was definitely able to handle it emotionally.
I had the best time popping those teeth out at inappropriate times and making people laugh.
It really is funny looking to see someone, an adult, without their front four teeth.

It was a hot mess, in the best way.

During all of this time, we spent a good chunk of time with Dr. Langston and her team and I can't say enough good things about them. They are the brains behind all of this and the ones that sent me to the right orthodontist and periodontist. They made something that could have easily been a negative experience for me, really smooth and made me feel very secure in the decisions being made. I truly cannot say enough good things about them.

If I sat here and wrote about every visit I had in their office, we would be here all night so I'm just going to sum it up for y'all.

This past December I got my first glimpse of what my "final teeth" would look like.
I'll never forget it.
It was our last day of school before Christmas Break. We had a half-day and I even left a little early to make it to the dentist for them to place my temporary bridge.
Dr. Langston uses a lab in Las Vegas that does AMAZING work. I have continued to be so impressed with them. They sent a wax up of what my temporary teeth were going to look like and so I walked away that day, after 5+ hours there with these pearly whites in:

Yes, I'm in the car. I couldn't wait to send selfies to my siblings (and many other people) of my new "teeth". 

Like literally--they made me teeth right then and there. It was pretty time intensive the first go around. I had to go back and get temporaries (I think) 4-5 other times while we were waiting for my final crowns to come in. I would always come home and tell Jason how cool I thought it was that I can walk in there without my 4 front teeth and in a matter of an hour or so, BOOM, teeth.

I was so happy to have teeth! Teeth without a silver retainer laying across them. Teeth that felt secure to bite in to things with. It's the simple things in life ;)
I was so happy to have them that I always used this filter in SnapChat just to show them off:

So here we were, at the end of March, after our 2nd go around with my final crowns and lo and behold, the 3rd time was a charm! I went in on the 28th of March and walked out with my final (hopefully forever) crowns for my four, front teeth.

My hope throughout this journey was for the dental team working with me to be understanding of what I wanted for the final outcome and they went above and beyond to make sure these teeth were just like I envisioned them. I really am so very thankful to each and every one of them and feel like they each deserve a medal for the patience and understanding they showed me.
I am forever grateful and so thankful for the option to have dental implants and for that, I will smile BIG and show those bad boys off!

Here's to the Fantastic Four!