by Chinwe Okafor
Imagine going for your dental routine ritual only to get the shocker of your life when you’re done. That is what happened to Nikki Stanley, 46, when she visited the dentist to have her crowns replaced.
One thing was for sure- she certainly didn’t expect to be left with no upper teeth at all.Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened and six years later, Ms Stanley says she is still too embarrassed to leave the house.
‘I had never been embarrassed about how my teeth are,’ says the lass from London.
‘Not until the age of 40 when I thought I was going in to get my teeth done and a couple of crowns fitted and ended up with no teeth.’
‘When I came round back at home in my bed, I was horrified,’ she said amidst tears, ”I thought I was going to wake up with my teeth crowned or at least my teeth filed down ready to have the crowns fitted the next week but instead, she’d just removed my teeth.’
This experience sparked fear in the learning support assistant so much that she was too frightened to get help when she began experiencing problems with her bottom teeth – and now has just five left in total.
Apparently, the dentist had given her a dental plate but Ms Stanley says she wasn’t told how to use the device and says wearing it is ‘alien’ to her. Ms Stanley became so self-conscious about her unsightly teeth, she is afraid to leave the house – a problem made worse by cruel bullies who insult her looks in the street.
‘I’m on borrowed time, borrowed time,’ she says. ‘I have five teeth left and it t has really affected my life.
‘I don’t go out. I’m just happier staying at home. The one time I stop thinking about my appearance and what I look like is when I’m in my garden, gardening.
‘I just enjoy it because I don’t have to interact with anyone. I don’t have to put my hand in front of my mouth when I’m talking to my plants.
‘I haven’t really got any quality of life to speak of. I’m happier at home than I am going out because I haven’t got to face people.’
I’ve basically been told that I’m a mess,’ adds Ms Stanley. ‘I’ve been told that I’m an embarrassment.
‘Once someone says that to you, where do you go from there? There’s nowhere else to go.’
The single mom of a lovely boy regrets she would ever date again, saying her confidence were dashed after the procedure.
‘I’m single and I can’t imagine meeting anyone or being with anyone like that,’ she says. ‘Who’d want to be with someone like me? I haven’t got a life. I exist but I don’t live.’
Fortunately the situation took a flip turn when Ms Stanley was offered a reconstruction operation by Harley Street surgeon, Dr Anthony Zybutz, who specialises in tooth implants.
He was forced to remove her remaining teeth and remove rotten stumps from her upper gums but, after eight hours in surgery, successfully completed the operation.
A delighted Ms Stanley says the surgery has been life-changing. ‘It’s unbelievable,’ she beams. ‘It’s just nice to go out and hold my head up and smile and not look down when people look at me.
‘It was kill or cure for me. I’m so much happier now that at the end of the day, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. There’s nothing to stop me doing anything now,’ adds Ms Stanley. ‘Having the surgery has just changed my life. It really has.’
Hi if she had all her teeth removed why did they find all the rotted stumps in her gums.