Many people are afraid of going to the dentist, but most will muster the bravery to go in when their teeth start falling out. However, most people are not Angie Barlow of England.
Many people are afraid of going to the dentist, but most will muster the bravery to go in when their teeth start falling out. However, most people are not Angie Barlow of England.
Barlow was terrified of going to the dentist because her mother learned she had throat cancer at a dental appointment. Her mother ultimately died from the cancer, at age 34, instilling a deep dread of the dentist in Barlow. So deep, in fact, that Barlow did not go to the dentist when her teeth started falling out, and instead reaffixed them in her mouth with superglue.
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For the past ten years, every time she lost a tooth (which seems like a fine time to consult a dental professional, but hey, whatever), Barlow just dabbed it with superglue and inserted it back into her mouth. “I used glue on the top of the tooth, and then I put it back in place until the glue is set,” she explained.
The situation got so bad however, that the toxic chemicals in the superglue reportedly destroyed 90 percent of the bone supporting her teeth in her upper jaw. When she finally did go to a dentist, they had to remove 11 of her top teeth and insert 6 titanium screws into her jaw so that they could place 12 new false teeth.
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Her bizarre predicament appears in a new BBC documentary called “The Truth About Your Teeth.” Watch the documentary below or see a picture of Barlow’s grin here. (Warning: it’s about as bad as you’d expect for someone who’s been supergluing teeth into their mouth for 10 years – and then about 80 times worse).
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