A woman in her twenties was forced to get dentures after all her teeth decayed and fell out.
Courtney Luna spent £47,000 on a new smile aged just 29.
5
5
5
Now this young woman from Kansas City, Missouri in the US is finally able to smile with confidence again.
Production worker Luna has suffered from weak teeth for as long as she can remember.
All her teeth were rotten when she was a child and her adult teeth are just as fragile.
Luna’s dentists diagnosed her with dental enamel hypoplasia—a defect characterized by thin or absent enamel.
In a desperate bid to fix the problem, Luna tried everything from braces to dietary changes – but to no avail.
She said: “All my life, it’s just been pain, life-threatening infections, three blisters that have caused massive swelling, sleepless nights and tears.
“I have spent many hours of my life in the dentist’s chair.
“I also had root canals, crowns, fillings and braces when I was a teenager, which also had to be removed due to decay.
“I tried changing my diet, brushing regularly, doing everything I could to keep them in reserve, but despite all of that, my teeth would still randomly break or split in half, just from eating normal meals.”
The excruciating pain and long hours spent at the dentist forced her to opt out of dentures to permanently improve her smile.
Luna decided it was time for a drastic change as her teeth were still falling out and no medicine was helping.
She said: “I realized that no matter what I did, I would soon have to be taken off the road.
“I decided I wanted to get some kind of implant dentures since I was still young, and to prevent any bone loss from my gums.”
She opted for retained dentures and cone-style implants.
Luna has spent £47,000 on her teeth so far, including her current dentures.
She faced a sinus lift, bone grafting, a full extraction of her upper teeth and placement of four implant posts – all while awake throughout the ordeal.
Luna has only completed the top half row of teeth as the dentist suggested she do it personally.
He is now eager to complete his bottom set.
She said: “The recovery has been painful, but going smoothly.
“It’s a long process because bone grafting is required, and then my implants settle in as well.”
But despite the surgeries and costs, she is happy with her results after a long battle to achieve a smile.
She said: “Despite all the difficult surgeries and lots of debt, I’m still very grateful that getting implant dentures was even an option I could take.
“It has been such a great experience so far with no more severe nerve pain and blisters in my upper teeth, and I have no regrets about having my teeth removed.
“Even wearing my top dentures has given me a lot of confidence with my beautiful new smile.
“I want to show the world that no matter what situation you are in, you can do the best you can, even if you have dentures at 29 like me, you can still be happy and enjoy your life!”
5
5