Commentary: I lost 2 front teeth. Here’s what I learned

Most people have 32 teeth. Unless you’re me. Then you have only 30 and a slight identity crisis.

I wasn’t born with missing teeth. I walked into a robbery and the rest was history.

One minute I was smiling like a Colgate ad. The next I looked like a jack-o’-lantern.

I couldn’t brush my teeth normally. Eating apples became iffy. I had to get a weird retainer that fit funky and pinched my gums. People went from looking at my eyes when I spoke to looking at my mouth. Awkward moments and uncalled for questions became normal.

I felt like losing my teeth was the loss of my identity. People no longer saw me for my passions and hobbies, but rather, for how I looked.

Around the same time, I transferred to a new school mid-year. I was the new girl and it felt like everyone around me already knew each other.

I smiled with my mouth closed. I talked less. I became hyperfocused on everything wrong with myself. I slowly started to let what happened to me consume me. From the second I woke up, to every meal, to when my head hit the pillow again: my missing teeth were my every thought.

After a while something weird happened. My frustration and embarrassment slowly turned to newfound empathy for myself.

This shifted once I realized I couldn’t let what happened to me take over my life. I could use this as an excuse to stop smiling, or I could take my smile back.

I didn’t want to hide anymore. My smile didn’t have to go away just because it looked different. I felt a sudden freedom in learning to let go of my need for perfection.

I realized that people didn’t care as much as I thought they did. Not nearly as much. The people who did? They definitely remembered me.

Not because I looked perfect, but because I was different and I owned it.

There are some perks to my gap. I have my own trademark, an unforgettable smile.

I can’t say losing my teeth was exactly a fashion statement, but it constantly reminds me of something more valuable: what makes you different makes you memorable.

— Anahid Grigoryan, Adrienne C. Nelson High School

This commentary was produced by a student reporter as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to

oregonlive.com/hsji