A MINI Mourne Mountains-full of over 150,000 teeth are either knocked out, fall out or are taken out in NI every single year.
People react in all sorts of different ways to the idea of losing teeth. Some people aren't that bothered losing a tooth if it can't be seen in the smile while for others it can set off an intense whirlwind of emotions.
Patients have been known to drive to the surgery for their tooth removal appointment only to find that the car has swerved at the last moment and doubled back towards home.
It's not just the thought of actually having the procedure done although that in itself isn't pleasant. It's the idea of losing part of the body for some folk that is the issue, it's almost like a kind of bereavement.
It can be the perception that part of the body isn't fully healthy, something has gone wrong and it's not quite perfect - "How could this have happened and why to me?"
My husband was in shock when he got diagnosed with a hiatus hernia but to me, it was obvious that his body reacted that way as his stomach was under constant attack from heaps of excessively acidy foods, chilli-laced meals and buckets of coffee every day.
Yes, it took him quite a while to accept that part of him was less than ideal even though the hernia acid reflux gave only occasional trouble.
It's the same with teeth - the dangers of smoking and the effect on the body has been drilled into us, but it's only when a physical symptom arises that we tend to take note.
It's still surprising to many smokers that their teeth work their way loose because of the cigarettes. Even though we can connect the dangers of nicotine to body damage it's still no easier to accept that many teeth are going to be lost and that dentures are looming on the horizon.
There are often many tears in the dental practice and at home as a patient comes to terms with the idea that their teeth are no longer healthy enough to be kept.
After this comes acceptance and then a state of readiness for treatment which helps the treatment run smoother.
