how i lost my teeth, the first time

four years of contact sports and the worst injury i endured was a sprained ankle. i played soccer, lacrosse and ran hurdles during indoor track. then, during my last year of high school, instead of running track, my friend gina and i decided to do something completely out of the blue, we decided to try out for cheerleading. yes. cheerleading. gina went on to cheerlead at her university, i quit the squad a month later to sing and act in the high school musical, guys and dolls. my mother was distraught.

it'd be more glamorous of me to say that i lost my teeth while doing a triple somersault or backflip from the top of a pyramid, but really, what happened was i fell. plain and simple. i fell, actually, during try-outs. while doing a pivot turn. i know, i know. a pivot turn?!? my hands were clasped behind my back and when i turned, my feet slipped out from underneath me and i had no reaction time to put my hands out in front of me. essentially, my teeth broke my fall. literally.

instead of my nose, cheek or chin breaking my fall, my teeth were the first to hit the surface of that cold cafeteria floor. it happened so quickly that all i remember is sitting up and wondering what happened. then, when i looked by my hand, what i saw frightened and shocked me. i saw half of my front tooth on the ground. i picked it up and used my tongue to survey the damages inside my mouth. yep. that was definitely half of my front tooth in my hand.

once the other girls realized what had happened, they began to squeal around me and i remember the coach telling everyone to calm down and give me room. i was in shock, and gina took me with my half tooth in my hand to the local dentist, who coincidentally, was another cheerleader's father. what are the chances, i tell you, what are the chances?!?

once in the dentist's chair, i was informed that my front tooth and the tooth next to it on the right (no. 8 + 7) were both loosened by the impact and the nerve endings were exposed. not a good thing. i was confronted with choices. my parents had insurance, but they didn't have dental insurance which severely limited my options, financially. i could've either had root canals or have my teeth extracted and wear what is affectionately known as a "flipper," a retainer with fake teeth attached. i opted for the cheaper option, and for ten years have worn a flipper. it served me well and many people had no idea that i had two fake teeth. i performed many a great party tricks and loved the shocked look on people's faces when i exposed my gums.

but, what i didn't love was that i had to worry about eating too hard of foods (no apples, no taffy, or caramel and certainly no corn on the cob!) and also, it did hinder my nights out, only slightly. i wore my flipper during the day, but, at night, it has to be removed. sleeping with the flipper in my mouth would serve as a host to other dental hygiene problems, bacteria and other gross stuff. and even though i was fine to pull out the ole flipper among friends, i was a bit more hesitant with romantic interests. and i happily found out that those who love you care not what teeth are missing.

now you may be wondering, why did i wait so long to get implants?
honestly, i was not fully aware of the consequences that time would have on my bone loss. i think that if i were more cognizant of the damages, i would've opted for implants much much sooner.

so, after my first round of oral surgery in high school, i walked around for two weeks with no front teeth. i didn't mind it so much. it was a fact of life. you do what you do because it is what it is. my sister was incredibly generous and helpful during that time, feeding me peach yogurt and other such soft mushy foods. this second time around, i'm back on that soft mushy foods diet. thank you yogurt, rice porridge, and chicken soup.