I wonder who came up with the idea of a tooth fairy and how did the word get out? I was told, as a child of maybe 5 years old, that when my “baby teeth” fell out I should put the tooth under my pillow. While I was sleeping, the Tooth Fairy would visit my bedroom and take my tooth, replacing it with a shiny new quarter. I thought that a quarter for my tooth was a pretty good deal, as I could then buy popsicles from the Good Humor van that circled my neighborhood every summer evening.
I looked forward to losing my baby teeth, as not only did I get money out of the event, but I soon had a mouth full of “grown up teeth.” This was not the case for my younger brother, though. Losing his baby teeth was a bad thing, as we soon discovered that he had no grown up teeth along the top of his jaw on both sides in the back to take their place. We blamed the “Evil Tooth Fairy” for cursing his grown up teeth, but it was a genetic problem that my brother dealt with throughout childhood.
In today’s world, people without teeth have options, such as dentures and tooth implants. Advances in dentistry have made dental implants available to a lot of people who need reconstructive surgery to replace teeth or take the place of missing teeth. The implant involves placing metal anchors into the jawbone. Once the anchors fuse with the bone, the oral surgeon places a prosthetic tooth, made from ceramic materials like those used for crowns, over the anchor for a very natural and permanent tooth. Although success is not guaranteed, this process has helped thousands of people dealing with tooth loss and missing teeth.
I happened across a web site explaining the whole process and it has a section of FAQs that was very informative. Although my brother is not a kid anymore, he is still a candidate for the dental implants and I bookmarked the web site so I could share the information and link with him next time we chat online. I think you are never too old to appreciate having a nice smile.
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