“I have to hold my hands up.  I hadn’t been to the dentist for 20 years as the thought just freaked me out.

I was so frightened, I stopped going.

When I was in my mid-thirties, a child accidentally headbutted me and damaged one of my front teeth. I just ignored the problem, but as time went by, I could feel more and more nerve pain.

It began to affect my life

Eventually my loose tooth and pain started to affect what I could eat, so I always made foods like soups and pasta as I couldn’t handle anything hard or chewy.

No-one else knew or noticed, I just got really good at hiding the fact that I had to avoid certain foods. I actually lost over a stone as I wasn’t eating properly.

I lived with constant anxiety

Last year, the damaged tooth started to drop down, but I was too embarrassed to tell anyone, even my husband.

In the end I had to tell him as I was so worried I would wake up one day and it would have fallen out.

I teach phonics to primary school children, and I was so worried it would fall out when I was with them. It made me feel so anxious all the time.

I knew I needed to see a dentist, but was in such a panic, I didn’t know what to do.

Finding David Neal Dental

David Neal is a local practice, just 10 minutes from where I live, so I looked them up and read the reviews.

I felt really brave when I rang them! I explained my problems and they arranged for me to go in. I was frantic with worry.

I immediately felt at home

Walking into David Neal Dental was the first time I’ve ever felt comfortable in a dental surgery.

My appointment was with Tim (Dr Tim Kimonge). He just said “Leave the worrying to me – we’re going to help you. We’re going to give you your confidence back.”

He splinted the damaged tooth and made it secure – it was amazing.  He promised he would do everything he could to give me my smile back by Christmas.

And that is exactly what he did. He made me a bridge with a single tooth on it as a temporary fix.

A more permanent solution

One of my back teeth then needed to be removed so Tim explained he was concerned I was spending so much money having lots of treatment to patch things up, when there could be a solution to solve everything in one go.

He mentioned dental implants, but I immediately dismissed the idea as being too expensive. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could go through with it.

Considering dental implant treatment

Tim arranged for me to speak with Eial (Dr Eial Makori), the Clinical Director at David Neal Dental, to get his opinion.

When I met Eial we discussed my options and how dental implants could help solve my problems for the long term.

Initially, I was going to have implants for my bottom jaw, but I wanted my top jaw done as I really didn’t want to keep the plate with the single tooth.

Eial listened to me, and together we agreed a plan; I would have a full set of upper new teeth on implants. On the bottom jaw, he would remove three teeth where there was movement and put in a rochette bridge.

So that’s what I decided to do.  My husband and I looked at finances and I was able to go ahead.

Surgery day – new teeth!

I arrived at 7:30 in the morning and was very nervous.

Everyone was so lovely, especially Temi (Practice Manager, Northampton) who looked after me all that day and was amazing. I felt like a celebrity.

My top jaw implants were done by 12:30pm. After lunch (yogurt), Eial did the bridge on my bottom teeth. When I left a few hours later, I felt great.

I had absolutely no pain

My main fear had been about the pain. Temi had reassured me there wouldn’t be any, but I hadn’t believed her.

But it was true. There was no pain at all.

The conscious sedation was great. I could hear everything that was going on, but felt incredibly relaxed.

Refining my smile

When I first saw my new teeth on surgery day, I was shocked – shocked that I had nice teeth and could smile.

They stayed in for three months. Eial was pleased as everything healed really well, so he did the impressions for my final teeth, and we talked about any enhancements I’d like to make.

We both agreed the shape and colour of my first teeth were great, but they were a bit small. It was very reassuring as Eial was prepared to keep refining everything until I was 100% happy.

I don’t think you’d get that at other dentists.

My final new teeth

Seeing the final teeth in place felt more emotional as the small change in size really made a difference.

I just thought “Wow.  This is me now.”

My new teeth are just part of me. I‘m so happy.

I bit into an apple on the same day!

That same day, Eial encouraged me to bite into an apple.

It was unbelievable – I haven’t been able to do that for 20 years. I went straight out and bought more apples!

It’s a new me

From where I started to where I am now – I’m a totally different person.

I have beautiful new teeth and I’ve got my confidence back.

I can eat anything I want now. All the things I avoided for so long are fine to eat, including ice cream.

Before I had my teeth done, the nerve pain would have been too bad.

I love my new smile

I was very self-conscious about my smile for so long.

Now I’ve had my Teeth in a Day implants, I’m like the Cheshire Cat, smiling all the time.

The children at school probably thought I looked like Nanny McPhee with my hanging down front tooth, but I’m transformed like she was!

I’m going away soon. The David Neal team said to send lots of photos – and I will!

Care at David Neal Dental

I’ve been blown away by the care.

The build-up, the regular contact, their kindness; it all put my mind at rest.

I feel like I can be myself with the David Neal team. Everyone is on first name terms, they all come and chat. They make you feel like family.

I felt so much more confident having them all round me. I knew I could trust them and that I was in good hands.

I never felt judged

I did feel self-conscious about my teeth when I first went to see them, but they never once judged me or made me feel judged.

Other dentists would have made me feel bad.

I don’t think I would have been treated so kindly anywhere else.

It was worth every penny

The treatment has been life-changing for me, but it’s also not inexpensive.

My husband and I thought carefully about spending the money. But the difference it has made in every way is amazing.

I can tell you it was worth every penny.”