I was toothless with dentures at 19 — I won’t hide my smile

A 24-year-old woman from Vancouver has already replaced her teeth with dentures — but she’s not letting it turn her smile upside-down.

Natalie Lacasse has suffered from chronic pain since she was diagnosed with Temporomandibular Disorder, a dysfunction of her left jaw joint, at age 12.

By seven years later, at age 19, she had lost all of her teeth as an after-effect of medicine she was taking and subsequently was fitted with dentures.

“Up until last year, I constantly was hiding my smile and teeth,” Lacasse told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “When I’d talk or laugh, I’d cover my mouth, and I truly was horrified to have anyone, even my own family, see me with [or] without my dentures.”

Now she is just trying to “bring humor and light” to the situation by sharing her traumatic story — and her smile – with her 16,800 followers on TikTok.

When she was 18, Lacasse tore her lower back muscle after a car crash and was prescribed naproxen for the pain.

She was advised to take it for two weeks but the medication allegedly gave Lacasse stomach ulcers — which caused her to vomit for five months nonstop.

“I had no idea the effects these medications had on the digestive and stomach system,” she said of the ultimately life-long effects.

“When I had peptic stomach ulcers, I was vomiting for months, and I thought I was doing the right thing by brushing my teeth as soon as I’d vomit,” she continued — before revealing the shocking reason for losing her chompers.

“I had no idea that’s the opposite of what you do after getting sick, as you only brush the acid into your teeth, breaking down the enamel.

“I obliterated my teeth by doing this.”

That resulted in Lacasse losing all of her teeth — and having to defend herself against people who assumed that her tooth loss was a result of substance abuse.

“Over the years, I’ve continued to face the stigma and assumption that I either don’t take care of myself or was abusing substances due to my teeth, and that has really impacted my mental health,” revealed Lacasse. “As soon as doctors see my teeth or hear about my dental situation, they always ask about drug usage and when I express I’ve never used anything, I’m usually met with some form of disbelief.”

Before getting her new dentures, Lacasse said she worked to afford them — and found herself “crying every day” to cope.

She no longer wanted to put on makeup, see her friends or take any pictures — and basically withdrew into herself.

She saved up for each tooth at a time, replacing the broken-down teeth with a denture.

But even with a $5,000 investment, Lacasse realized that she’d never achieve her natural look.

“It felt like I was punched in the gut,” she said. “I was expecting my smile back to normal and to look the same and when it didn’t, I tried my hardest to not break down in front of the dentist as they were excited for me and thought they were good.”

“After my first denture ever (in April 2019), as soon as I left the office, I cried the whole walk home on the phone to my mum,” Lacasse recalled.

“Each tooth being added and then revealed was a tiny bit of a heartbreak, but when I got the last six added, it was hard to look in the mirror and still to this day when I see my old smile in photos, it hurts a bit seeing my new smile.”

Now, Lacasse is waiting for a specialized denture due to her slightly underdeveloped left jaw joint.

Her current ones can only be worn for about an hour until her headaches turn into migraines; she can’t wear them while consuming food, either.

“I still have difficulties eating in public, as it is incredibly hard for me to eat with no upper teeth and all broken lower teeth – and this tends to get the worst reactions,” she explained.

“I had people gag at me once while I tried to eat, completely avoid asking if I wanted food due to my teeth and have even had people sarcastically try to offer me soup instead or something incredibly crunchy/chewy as a joke.”

“I’m really trying to not just entertain myself during this very difficult time but bring humor and light to chronic pain and dentures being young while sharing my journey and story,” she Lacasse, who hopes to one day be able to afford jaw reconstruction to relieve some pain from the TMD with which she still struggles.

Getting ahead of any jokes, one TikTok that Lacasse posted hilariously answered the question, “Why don’t you eat in public?” — and has more than 1.7 million views.

In the clip, Lacasse suddenly spits out her dentures before shooting a look into the camera.

One person said: “You make my day.”

“This is so far from what I was expecting. I love this!” another wrote.

“I wasn’t expecting that, I love people that make fun of themselves,” a third said.

While a fourth commented: “Did. Not. Expect. That.”

Others, who apparently have also lost teeth of their own, were pleased to see Lacasse highlighting a common struggle.

One commenter said: “I have also that because … genes.”

“I feel your pain, even after losing only two side front teeth,” another person added.

“Same here,” said a third.

“Omg thank you for this Tok. I’m in the same boat as of this year and terrified of social outings now (dinner wise),” one more wrote.

Lacasse just hoped that her reveal would be as much an inspiration to others as it might have been to her younger self.

“When I started this process, I didn’t see anyone like me, and I am just trying to be someone 19-year-old me would’ve looked up to,” she said.