A woman is overjoyed as she "got her smile back" after dental surgery.
Paige Griffin had been targeted by bullies over her teeth since primary school. The cruel comments continued into adulthood as she was nicknamed "wheelie bin teeth" by trolls after she up a TikTok page.
The mum-of-one suffered with confidence issues and struggled to work as a sales consultant due to fear of showing her teeth. The 26-year-old visited various dentists who were unable to find the cause for her stained teeth.
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She said: “For years, people said I had wheelie bin teeth - because I had one black, one brown and one green. I just wanted to be loved and liked, and my teeth prevented me from finding love and friendships.
“I was tormented and resented myself.” Some sympathetic followers suggested she set up a GoFundMe page for dental support and Paige successfully raised £400.
She had almost given up hope when she received a message from SmileDental in May 2022 – a dentist in Turkey – who offered to give her a new set of crowns and porcelain veneers for free. She flew over for the life-changing surgery with her partner, Rhys, 21, an ex-army officer, drainage engineer, on May 31 – where she also had nine fillings and two teeth taken out.
Despite being reluctant at first, thinking it was a scam, she soon felt confident to accept the offer after checking their 69.7k Instagram following and realising it was legitimate. Paige was told the entire cost was around £5,030 and "she didn’t need to worry about a thing."
She said: “I never thought that I would ever be able to afford such an expensive surgery. I was shocked by how much the whole procedure would’ve cost.”
The Turkish dentists told Paige that the real cause of the stained teeth was due to gum disease, which had been neglected by Paige’s previous dentists. She is now overjoyed with the results and said she is finally able to smile with confidence for the first time in her life.
The stay-at-home mum, from Walsall, Birmingham, said: “I was blown away that a stranger could offer such kindness. I feel like I've finally got my smile back. I've refused to smile with my teeth on show my whole life but now I can't stop beaming.
“I’ve never had a single ounce of good luck, so at first, I didn’t believe them when they reached out It’s completely changed my life.”
Paige returned home on June 8 - and surprised her followers on TikTok live with her new smile. She said: “For the first time, the haters were drowned out by positive support and compliments. I never thought I could be considered ‘beautiful’ and now I am.”
After a couple of weeks back in the UK, Paige highlighted the noticeable change in her confidence. She said: "I can smile at strangers in Tesco with confidence. I can take photos and smile with my son for the first time.”
Smile Dental's senior patient coordinator described the process as "incredible". Hasan Sarıtekelir said: "We had an incredible experience, so did she. We strived to empathise with her.
“The process started with a coincidence in fact, and being very parallel to our goals as an enterprise “We simply wanted to be a figure in her life, a part of her wonderful smile."
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