A woman has revealed she is toothless and wears dentures at just 24, after continuous vomiting from medication “obliterated” her teeth.
Natalie Lacasse was prescribed pain relief medication at the age of 18 that gave her stomach ulcers as a side effect – causing her to vomit for five months on end.
At just 19, she was left without teeth and had to wear dentures and struggled to feel confident, constantly hiding her mouth.
But now she has taken to TikTok to share her story and self-acceptance journey – insisting she will no longer hide her smile.
“Sometimes I forget it isn’t normal and I will smile at someone or speak to a cashier without my dentures in, and they either look like they saw a ghost or don’t look away from my mouth,” Natalie, from Vancouver, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“At this point, I don’t care as much because without my dentures I’m in a lot less pain right now and I don’t want to be in pain to make others comfortable just to look in my direction.
“Up until last year, I constantly was hiding my smile and teeth.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Despite being forced to deny that her tooth loss is a result of substance abuse, the real root of her jaw issues dates back to her childhood.
She had suffered from chronic pain since the age of 12 after being diagnosed with Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD), a dysfunction of her left jaw joint.
At 18, Natalie landed in the hospital after a car crash tore her lower back muscle, and doctors prescribed her naproxen for the pain and advised her to take it for two weeks.
She said: “I had no idea the effects these medications had on the digestive and stomach system.
“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.
“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.
“Doctors are incredibly fast to push these heavy medications onto young people instead of resorting to other forms of pain relief first, like physiotherapy.”
A year on, confronted with the reality of losing her teeth, Natalie withdrew into herself and stopped doing her makeup, seeing friends or even taking photos.
Soon, she discovered the “crushing” way strangers would treat her after seeing her mouth and found herself “crying every day” as she worked to afford dentures.
Natalie saved up for each tooth at a time, replacing the broken-down teeth with a denture.
To date, she has spent $5,000 on her new smile but had to face the reality that it would look different to how it once did.
She said: “It felt like I was punched in the gut. 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.
“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, Natalie is waiting for a specialised denture due to her slightly underdeveloped left jaw joint.
Her current dentures are “purely for aesthetic” purposes, and she cannot eat with them in and struggles to speak properly.
She said: “As it is a standard fitting temporary denture, even with adhesives it causes too many issues for my jaw and nerves to keep in.
“I never wear my denture to this… around an hour of them in, the headaches I get daily, turn to a migraine, so I avoid wearing them unless as a prop or for photos.
“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.
“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 feel comfortable not wearing them because of the pain, but my anxiety when not wearing them is something I still battle with and something [sharing my story on] TikTok has really helped me begin to overcome.”
Currently, Natalie is hoping for jaw reconstruction to relieve some pain from the TMD that she still struggles with.
She explained: “In my province, prosthodontists are not covered and I’ll be looking at $16,000 to restore my jaw and teeth through a specialised upper denture that will support my left jaw joint, either a lower dental bridge or dentures, and between those they’re praying it brings my jaw down and forward.
“Doctors are saying this will solve all the chronic pain, but my prosthodontist, unfortunately, cannot continue any definitive care until what is underlying is sorted.”
Despite Natalie’s struggle to receive proper medical and dental care from professionals, posting her story on social media has provided her with a much-needed source of respite.
She insists that laughter is the key to finding some peace along her journey, as well as building a community for others in similar predicaments, and posts videos of her proudly showing off her smile.
She said: “I’m really trying to not just entertain myself during this very difficult time but bring humour and light to chronic pain and dentures being young while sharing my journey and story.
“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.’
Taking to Tiktok, in a post that gained over 51,000 likes from her followers, Natalie hilariously answered the question “Why don’t you eat in public?”.
Starting the clip by smiling at the camera, she then popped out her dentures to highlight one such problem.
Some viewers were stunned at the performance and shared their shock.
One person said: “You make my day.”
Another added: “This is so far from what I was expecting. I love this!”
“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 have also lost teeth of their own, were pleased to see Natalie highlighting a common struggle.
One commenter said: “I also have that because… genes.”
“I feel your pain, even after losing only two side front teeth,” another person added.
“Same here,” said a third.
Another follower said: “Omg thank you for this Tok. I’m in the same boat as of this year and terrified of social outings now (dinner wise).”
