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Recently a patient named Louisa told me a story that I felt you would like hearing. Louisa had been dealing with a denture and missing teeth for years and quite frankly hadn’t been able to eat properly for over 20 years. She was incredibly excited when she saw what I could do for her with my special methods of dentistry and after she heard how quickly she would be enjoying the things she missed the most about food. Louisa went home to tell this great news to her family and friends only to find that they ridiculed her for wanting to spend so much on herself to get back the eating, smiling, and comfort that she deserved. Needless to say, at first Louisa felt pretty bad hearing those comments. She even had some doubts about her care, but she knew in her heart she was making the right choice. She went through with her care and it turned out just as wonderful as she dreamed. After her friends and family saw how happy she was they eventually admitted that they had been wrong. Can you imagine how horrible it would have been if Louisa had listened to their comments and let her doubts keep her from so easily getting back what she missed the most about her teeth and had made her uncomfortable for 20 twenty long years?
I am sharing Louisa’s story so you won’t be surprised by the things others might say to you when you talk to them about the great decision you’ve made for yourself.
Here are some other thoughts to make you more comfortable when discussing your exciting future with your family and friends.
Very few people, including family and direct friends, have walked in your shoes putting up with your pain, discomfort, and poor ability to eat and smile. There is simply no way they can empathize since they don’t share your unique experience. While everyone is entitled to an opinion, unless they have lived with your problems they just can’t know.
They wouldn’t understand what it is like to wear dentures or to be missing teeth and certainly can’t know what it will be like to feel your teeth being solid again.
They won’t understand that one can look older than necessary unless you preserve your facial bone structure and keep it from deteriorating further.
They won’t understand the problem of being toothless later in life or the fact that serious dental problems increase the medical problems that often put people into nursing homes.
They won’t understand that you’ll likely live a longer and healthier life with less illness thanks to better nutrition and mental health.
They won’t have dealt with uncomfortable chewing, painful teeth, or smiling embarrassment.
Lastly, they weren’t with you during this lengthy process of hearing, seeing and choosing an option to solve your problems.
While I certainly hope you won’t hear any less than caring things from those around. If it does, you will feel secure knowing you’ve made the right decision to get the care you deserve.
To Your Smile,
Dr. Menard
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