I screamed. Not because of the pain, but because I had obliterated my best feature—my two front teeth. Even in the dark, I didn’t need to see them to know the damage was done. Instinctively, I lifted my finger to my mouth to assess the wreckage: my front teeth were shattered. One was broken halfway up, jagged like a vampire fang, while the other was snapped a third of the way down, leaving sharp, uneven edges on the side.
It was December 27, and my three kids, still buzzing with excitement from Christmas, were eager for a night out. The girls suggested seeing 27 Dresses at the movies. It wasn’t exactly my type of film, but I just enjoyed being at the movies with them anyway. Their brother, Adam didn’t think it was his kind of movie either, so he opted to spend the evening with friends instead.
I will never forget that evening for as long as I live
With our choc tops in hand, we settled into our seats, ready for what promised to be a light-hearted chick flick. The movie was about a young woman called Jane who had been a bridesmaid 27 times but had never been a bride herself. Amid a whirlwind of unsuitable boyfriends, Jane eventually found ‘the one’ which resulted in her own happy ending. In the final scene, she walked down the aisle as a bride, accompanied by her 27 bridesmaids, each dressed in the gown Jane had worn at their weddings. It was a predictable but heartwarming ending to the story.
Heading home
However, my night didn’t have the same happy ending. I sat in the back seat of the car, and when we arrived home, I got out to unlock the front gate so Hannah could reverse down the driveway.
The gate had two sections: a wider gate, which was bolted into the concrete at the top of the driveway, and a smaller gate, which was usually left open because no one bothered to close it. The wider gate had a lever positioned halfway up that had to be pulled to release the bolt. I bent down to unlock it, just as I always did.
Who closed the bloody gate?
Not realising someone had closed the smaller gate this time, probably the first time ever, my face plunged forward, teeth-first into the horizontal iron bar that formed the top of the gate. The impact was sudden and shocking as my teeth slammed against the cold metal.
That’s when I screamed
The girls jumped out of the car, alarmed. They had never heard me scream before and had no idea what had happened. Hannah immediately tried to pull my hand away from my mouth.
‘Show me. Let me look. What happened? Is there any blood?’ As a nurse, she was prepared to handle anything involving a bit of blood. But there was no blood. This wasn’t something she could fix.
Under the glow of the outside light, Sarah could see the chalky, bony residue on the top of the gate—the unmistakable shape of my two once-beautiful front teeth.
No, I won’t calm down
By the time I got inside the house, I was still howling like a baby and it was already midnight. Despite the late hour, I insisted that Hannah call my dentist’s office immediately. She left a message on the answering machine explaining it was an emergency and asked if someone could call back in the morning.
I looked hideous
I didn’t really expect anyone to call back—it was Christmas after all. Most people were still on holidays. I had resigned myself to hibernating until the New Year. I looked hideous, and every time I tried to speak or eat, the shards of my broken teeth scraped against my tongue, even cutting it occasionally.
But miraculously, I got a call back the very next morning.
On the 28th of December, I sat in the dentist’s chair for a couple of hours, reflecting on the incredible skill and kindness of my dentist. He had come in especially from his holiday break to cap my front teeth. I could never thank him enough for what he did.
Thanks for modern dentistry
Twenty years have passed since that dreadful night, and my teeth still look as good as new. Only my kids and I know the truth—that my front teeth are capped. Well, now anyone reading this blog knows too.
Featured image: Thanks to Marianna Berno from Unsplash showing flamingos in their beautiful dresses. More images on her instagram – instagram http://instagram.com/ikigaii
