Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ROT A SIGHT..
Fizzy drink addict Michael gets new smile after losing 27 teeth
A FIZZY drink addict who downed six litres of pop a day has lost 27 teeth.
Michael Sheridan had to have the rotten gnashers surgically removed because of his chronic habit.
One of the specialists, a friend he met through water polo, was so worried about him he carried out the £50,000 job for free.
Now Michael, 32, is smiling again after getting gleaming new dentures fitted.
The Ashbourne, Co Meath, man had been in constant pain for the last decade, living on a bland diet of yoghurt, Weetabix and soup – as even biting into a sandwich left him howling in pain.
He said: “I was addicted to fizzy drinks. I’d drink six litres or more a day – whatever I could get my hands on.
“I always had a bottle of mineral in my hand.
“I knew if I went to a dentist I’d have to stop drinking fizzy drinks and I didn’t want to do that before.
“I also knew that all my teeth would have to come out and I couldn’t afford that financially.”
But the dad of three had to bite the bullet and get his decayed choppers taken out.
Navan dentist Dr David Murnaghan offered to take on the mammoth task for free.
He said: “I knew Michael but didn’t know him well enough to talk to him about his teeth.
“It was only during a carshare trip to Galway that the subject came up and I told Michael to come and see me for a proper consultation.
“I knew his teeth meant a serious threat to his health.”
It took almost a year for the fizzydrink addict, who works as a kitchen porter at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, to pick up the confidence to arrange the appointment, which took place last November.
He said: “I used to keep my teeth hidden and talk to as few people as possible. If I was out, I’d sit further back because I was conscious of my bad
ASHBOURNE, CO MEATH
breath. The kids in the family started noticing my teeth so I went back into my shell even further.
“Sometimes I wouldn’t sleep because of the pain and if I went out for a meal with my partner Linda, I’d have pain straight away.”
He could survive on just one meal a day because his appetite was suppressed by the litres of fizzy drinks he was consuming.
With the help of David and his colleagues, Michael didn’t have to worry about the cost and had all 27 teeth surgically removed in one sitting at Boyne Dental & Implant Clinic last week. He said: “I was two hours in the chair under local
anaesthetic. “It was uncomfortable but not that painful. I’ve been walking around in constant pain for 10 years, so this was nothing.”
After the procedure, David inserted dentures to give Michael’s gums time to heal and in April he will have 12 implants inserted into his jawbone.
Bridges will also be attached to these to give Michael his new permanent smile.
He hasn’t had a fizzy drink since before the surgery and will meet with a nutritionist and psychologist to help him on this stage of the journey.