In the summer of last year, a lovely lady came to see us after years of struggling with her teeth and quietly putting up with it. She didn’t dress it up. Her words were, “I’ve always had rubbish teeth,” and she said it like it was a fact she’d long accepted rather than something she expected to change.

Things had been going wrong for years, but having to undergo radiotherapy really accelerated it. She reported her teeth weren’t in great shape beforehand, and halfway through treatment some of them actually came out. Others shifted. Eventually, everything felt loose. On top of that, the colour started changing too, going darker and browner, which knocked her confidence even more.

INFINITY DENTAL BLOG

She has a complex medical history and had already been told her teeth probably wouldn’t last five years. LDI had agreed to help, but the waiting list was long. Dentures were suggested more than once, but she couldn’t see herself managing with them, practically or emotionally. She eventually stopped seeing her regular dentist because every appointment circled back to the same conversation.

What made it harder was how visible her role is. She’s a manager, orders supplies for a company, and sits in meetings all the time. Being public facing with teeth she didn’t trust was giving her constant anxiety. She was very aware of her receding gums and although she’d stopped smoking five years ago, felt the damage was already done.

When she first came in, she was understandably very nervous. By the end of her treatment, she was doing great.

Thank you for reading,

Dr Mohsin Patel