We’ll Give Your Smile a Second Chance

Many years ago, I used to referee high school basketball. During the second quarter of one of the games, I actually blew the whistle, and two partials flew out in my hand. Now, that’s a little uncomfortable. So, my partner, at halftime, had bubble gum, and we put them back in. I don’t have to worry about that anymore. And that was important. And also, you know, going out for dinner, and them falling out, it’s made a big change in my mental thinking and my lifestyle now. Now, I actually smile, where, previously, I couldn’t smile that well. The steps were, basically, on my part, to listen because I respect the doctor and his staff. I listened to him, what I needed to do, and I followed through. And when I came to get the work done, I knew exactly what to expect. Now, I took medication the night before, and that morning, with the uppers, I woke up, and I had no teeth. It’s just natural now. It’s great. Wonderful.

I love to come to Dr. Crawford’s office because, for once, they make me feel like family. By the time I walk in the door, they greet me nice, they let me know I’m welcome, they ask me do I want water, and they’re upfront with me with everything that I have going on. You know, there’s nothing they hide. They let me know everything that I need to know before I go back there in the back. They really care. You know, they really sat down and they went over everything possible that they could do to save my teeth, you know, because when I first came out, I was in pretty bad shape. So, they actually tried different things to save my teeth, and that made me feel welcome. You know, they didn’t want to just come in here, and just, “Oh, take your teeth out, and do this, and do that.” There, they were like, “No, we’re gonna try this. We’re gonna try that.”

And at the end of the day, that meant a lot to me because the other dentists I went to, they were just pretty much, “Oh, you’re in bad shape. You know we got to take your teeth out.” And I said, “I wasn’t prepared for that.” You know, I wanted to see what other options I had, and when I came here, they actually gave me a couple of different options, and that made me feel at home. So, I’ve been coming here for 11 years. And within those 11 years, we became family. He watched my kids grow up. He’s, actually, supported my father’s barbecue. Dr. Crawford’s helped me down. He was like, “No, Leroy, we’re gonna try this. We’re gonna save your teeth as long as we can. After that, you’ll feel comfortable. When you’re ready to make that switch, I’m gonna be here for you.” And he actually, stood on his word every bit of the way.

The reason I came here and I began looking for someone to take care of this for me was I was experiencing some loose teeth. I had one missing tooth. I knew that it was only gonna get worse over time, and I needed somebody to take care of it. You know, I’m a black-and-white type of guy. You know, I like it all laid out on the table. I can take a lot of information, and I like to have all of it. And they do a good job of giving me all the information I need in order to make a great decision. You know, with the way that they listened to what I was trying to explain to them, what I was trying to do, and the way they acted on that was great. They got to the point pretty quickly and they were able to give me a plan that I could expect and give me reasonable expectations.

And they listened to me and they’re really thorough with everything they do and creating a vocabulary with me so we could both understand how you need to make these types of adjustments. What are you trying to tell me? Is your bite ear there? It wasn’t long after that, you know, I was really confident from the second temporary to the last one. I was really amazed because they were dead on. If you can’t communicate very well with your caregiver and they can’t communicate well back with you, that’s a problem. And I didn’t have any problems like that here.

There was some issues inside the mouth. There were some things that I knew was going on. I didn’t put my finger on it because I’m not the expert. So I said to myself, and I said to my grandchildren, and I said to my children, “I’m having some issues. I’m hurting here. I’m hurting there, and I’m losing this tooth, and I’m doing this and doing that.” And they said to me, “Grammy, how about implants?” And my grandchildren paid for my implants. That was a blessing right there.

I just wanted to be and look and feel myself better to enhance what I have as I grow older. A lot of older people my age, and I’m 82, they kinda give up. I don’t give up on me. And my teeth and my smile and how I look, and how I present myself is very important to me and how people see me.

I have a girlfriend who’s going through some issues right now with her teeth. She has been to a doctor. She’s not pleased. I suggested, “You have a consultation. I feel comfortable.” She said, “How do they treat you?” I’m treated like I’m part of family because people know me here. You need to just…” I hate to tell people what to do. I suggest. I say, “You may want to consult with Dr. Crawford.” I just put the ball in the court. Now, she can bat it.