2021 Villain of the Year

I'm going to be honest with you.

This was not a tough call. 

Certain seasons of 2021 provided more compelling contenders, but when you look at the year as a whole, this villain really takes the cake. 

Based on emotional cost, financial cost, the most troublesome timeline, and the ability to ooze into all areas of my life, it is with great honor that I announce my upper right baby tooth as Villain of the Year. 

Most people don't still have baby teeth when they are 24, but I'm not most people. 

At the start of this year, I still had two baby teeth on my mouth, both upper, one on each side. The upper right tooth hung on for dear life, but I knew in December of 2020 that this tooth needed to be replaced.  I opted for an implant, because it is the most effective and long-lasting, and I actually need this tooth to be with me for quite some time. Most people get implants in their 60s, so longevity might not be a top priority, but once again, I am 24. 

So the initial procedure took place in April*. The first step is to have the tooth removed and the implant (but not the crown) placed. This is followed by a 3-month healing process in which you do *not* have a tooth there. I'm fairly fortunate, in that this tooth is just barely visible when I smile. Thank the Lord it was not one of my center teeth. Also given the fact it's a baby tooth, that would have looked real funky. 

*The small ray of light in this experience was that the oral surgeon happened to be very attractive. I did appreciate that. 

Also, the surgery was a bit dramatic! I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but I think my tooth broke because the root was stronger than they were expecting and I experience a riveting few minutes of the surgeon speaking code to his assistant as she frantically went through a ton of drawers looking for some instrument. 

I did not like not having this tooth. Yes, masks help blah blah blah, but I couldn't chew on the right side of my mouth normally, and I was aware of the absence of this tooth every time I smiled. I didn't think I looked very pretty in almost all pictures taken of me during this time, the one below is an exception. You'll notice my head is turned so you cannot see my right side. The irony is that you can't SUPER see the tooth in pictures when I have it, but I swear it adds dimension to the smile. 

As consolation for my missing tooth, the dentist made a fake tooth that could temporarily be placed in my mouth (in a retainer-like fashion) to fill the hole, if you will. They kindly charged $232 for this temporary tooth. It looked SO bad. It did not match my smile line, and it had this weird fake plastic gum on top that looked noticeably separate from my actual gum. No beuno. I did not wear this once. After having a follow-up fitting with the dentist in which she informed me that this is just "how temporaries work" (um, this would have been nice to know BEFORE I paid for it), I requested a refund. Ahh how they could have made my life easy by just granting the freakin' refund. But no. It turned into I believe a 3 month process with so many follow-up emails and call from me. I paid these people SOOO much money for this procedure and they couldn't give me a mere $232 back? I'm pleased to report they did eventually grant me the refund, but only after I made it abundantly clear I was not taking no for an answer. 

After the healing process, you have a follow-up surgery, a second healing period, and THEN you get the new tooth. Now for reasons that are beyond the scope of this blog post, I kept having to postpone the second surgery.  I also experience jaw pain the whole time I did not have this tooth—it's almost as if our body was designed for us to chew on both sides. 

Finally. Finally, in October I started the process of getting the crown. My dying wish was to have a full set of teeth by Thanksgiving. It seemed feasible. My second surgery went super well, my gum healed again, I had the fitting for my new crown, and scheduled my final appointment for the Friday before Thanksgiving. 

I had a crap Thursday before that Friday, so I wasn't in the best of moods, but I kept thinking "At least you will have this tooth! After seven months without, it will finally be back." I take my before picture outside the office, waltz in, and the dentist puts in the new crown. It feels tight. He says, "I'm not sure what's going on, Rebecca." 

Turns out, the crown doesn't fit quite right. I know! The crown custom made for my mouth! AHHHHHH. There were a few moments where I thought he would let me keep this one, but the lab wanted it back. So no tooth for Thanksgiving. :( 

After two more weeks sans the tooth of my greatest desires, I finally received the gem at 7:00am on December 8th. I lost it on April 27th. Twas a journey, my friends. 

After

Before