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Edie Morgan's avatar

This totally made me think of my own son, who was also missing adult teeth and also had to live his young life with no teeth, awaiting implants when he stopped growing. All the pics of him as a kid are with his lips pressed together. As if growing up isn't hard enough without all the extra physical and emotional pain of missing teeth!

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Awww... poor thing! Nice to know I wasn't the only one, though, if I'm being honest. Thank you for sharing with me. <3 Is it something hereditary in your family, too?

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Edie Morgan's avatar

You know, I never found out if it was hereditary. Not from my parents at least. The little knobs on the top of his ears were hereditary (saw them on a great aunt). We told him that's where they broke the mold and he's one of a kind.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Aww, what you told his is very sweet! <3

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Elizabeth's avatar

My son was assaulted as a teen and his two front teeth got knocked out. He couldn’t eat for weeks while the injury to his jaw healed. As painful as that was, the shame of his less than perfect smile is what made him not want to go to school. What a brave and good kid you were to endure all that pain and social isolation. Thanks for sharing your story.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Thank you, Elizabeth! I’m sorry your son had to deal with that!

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Denise Mills's avatar

I love your writing! And I had my own experience with an implant. Luckily this was something that happened in my 30s due to a front tooth getting a crack below the gums that had to be pulled. It would have been much harder for you as a teen ❤️. People don't get how big of a deal this kind of stuff is for kids.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Thanks, Denise for your kind words about my writing. I bet it wasn’t fun to get an implant in your 30s either! <3

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Barbs Honeycutt's avatar

yay for doing teeth stuff when you're young! i can still feel the metal and the elastics and the retainers pulling and scratching, it's a feeling that never goes away, especially in nightmares.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Ugh, yeah. All that was NO fun. But I’m glad (now) that I did it!

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Lee Bacon's avatar

What a moving story. I’m sorry you went through all that. It must have been so difficult at the time, but I’m sure it made you a stronger, more empathetic person.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Thanks, Lee! It’s funny because I think only upon reflecting on it now (to write this essay) have I fully understood the shame and insecurity it caused me at the time. But I turned out ok! ;) Thank you for reading!

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Based in Paris's avatar

Alexis, this is great.

Your writing style reminds me of the personal essays in magazines like Jane and Teen Vogue in the late 90s and early 2000s.

It’s a specific type of writing that is tough to get right.

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Wow, thanks! It was around that time when all this happened so maybe I was channeling the times. ;) Appreciate you reading it, and your kind words!

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Rick Bailey's avatar

What an ordeal. A very engaging personal narrative!

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Thanks for your kind words!

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Jess Austin's avatar

Thank you for sharing this Alexis, that's such a tough experience to go through as a child! I also had hang ups about my teeth as a child and teenager. My two front teeth had a big gap in between them (something I inherited from my dad) and they stuck out in a way that, according to other children, made me 'look like Bugs Bunny'. It took three years of wearing an incredibly uncomfortable brace with hooks on the front that stuck out of my lips for my teeth to be considered 'normal'. I can't help but think that now, my original teeth might be considered on trend!

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

You’re welcome. And thank you for sharing part of your story. Funny how it is trending now. If only we knew that as kids! ;)

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Marie-Elizabeth Mali's avatar

How hard to go through that as a teen! Glad there was a solution.

With you on the toothless dreams… after I spent 18 months without front teeth in my early 40s, getting bone grafts and implants, wearing a flipper, I had dreams about losing my teeth for at least a decade!

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Alexis Mera Damen's avatar

Implants are quite a process! I hope I never have to do it again! I still have dreams that my teeth are falling out. 😳 But as you mentioned, I'm glad there was a solution!

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