Colin Blanchard, a 54-year-old courier and divorced father from London, has regained his smile after years of living with severe gum disease that left him with just 12 teeth that were beyond saving. The condition caused constant pain, made eating difficult, and led to profound embarrassment that affected his social life and self-esteem.
“I’d look in the mirror and think, if I met someone with teeth like mine, would I be attracted to them? Probably not. That’s how little confidence I had,” Colin said. After his divorce, he moved away and had to rebuild his social life, but instead of looking forward to meeting new people, he became consumed by the appearance of his teeth.
Constant pain and hiding his smile
Colin covered his mouth whenever he laughed and automatically put his hand over his face when talking to strangers. He stopped taking photographs because he hated seeing his own smile. “I only smiled in photos taken with my children,” he said. The physical pain was relentless: his teeth became so loose that biting into simple foods like apples was impossible. He pushed food to the back of his mouth to chew and suffered repeated abscesses as food became trapped between his teeth and gums.
“I was nervous every time I ate because I knew moving one tooth could leave me in agony for days,” he recalled. Dentures no longer fitted properly as his remaining teeth shifted, and they became so painful that he stopped wearing them altogether.
£60,000 quote in the UK felt impossible
When Colin explored treatment options in the UK, he was quoted around £60,000 for full-mouth restoration. “I just thought that was it. I couldn’t afford it, so I carried on trying to manage,” he said.
The turning point came during a day out with friends. Someone he hadn’t seen for years looked at him and said: “Wow, Colin, look at the state of your teeth.” Colin explained: “It completely knocked me. My teeth had got worse gradually, so I hadn’t really noticed just how bad they’d become until someone else pointed it out.” Around the same time, one of his front teeth had started to protrude so far forward that it would dry out when he was outside, making it look dirty no matter how much he cleaned it.
Treatment in Turkey: a staged plan
After speaking to two friends who had undergone dental treatment arranged through Longevita, Colin contacted them to explore his options. A 3D scan revealed advanced bone loss from gum disease, meaning his teeth were beyond saving. A staged plan was developed across two trips to Istanbul, combining full extractions, bone grafting, implants, and later porcelain crowns.
Colin travelled alone to Istanbul for the first stage, having never visited Turkey before. He was advised not to wear dentures between the two stages to allow the bone grafts and implants to heal. As a result, he spent four months without teeth. “I’d already been struggling to eat properly. Four months without teeth wasn’t the hardest part,” he said.
Life after treatment: smiling without thinking
With his treatment now complete, Colin smiles without thinking, no longer avoids photographs, and doesn’t instinctively cover his mouth while talking. “It’s the little things people don’t think about. I love walking down the street smiling now. I actually enjoy people looking at me because I’m not trying to hide anymore,” he said.
One of his first moments after completing treatment was simple: “I already knew exactly what I wanted to eat. I went straight to a restaurant because I just wanted to enjoy a proper meal again.”
Dating and oral health lessons
When asked about his dating life, Colin said it’s still early days. “I haven’t really had the chance to get back into dating yet. I’m getting used to everything again,” he added.
Having lived with gum disease for years, Colin now takes his oral health very seriously. “I never skip cleaning my crowns. I water floss several times a day because I never want to go back to how life was before,” he said. He also hopes other men don’t ignore problems for too long. “Men definitely put things off. You always think you’ve got more time, but you don’t realise how important it is until there’s a real problem.”
For Colin, the hardest part was never the pain. “It wasn’t really about the teeth. It was feeling like I had to hide myself all the time. Now I wake up, smile in the mirror and actually like the person looking back.”
