After nearly a year away, I’m finally back! For those who remember me, you’ll know I’ve got three amazing (and occasionally chaotic) boys—12, 5, and nearly 2. I absolutely love being a dad, whether it's creating fantasy stories with my eldest, weaving "choose your own adventure" tales, or trying (and sometimes failing) to harness the creativity of the little ones. Parenting is an adventure all on its own… but one of my kids decided to take things to the next level.

You see, my 5-year-old has always been a bit of a nighttime terror. A champion of unnecessary midnight invasions, he’s spent years sneaking into my bed, tossing, turning, and generally thrashing about like a fish on land. Unfortunately for me, his chaotic sleep gymnastics had some unintended consequences. Over many months (and probably hundreds of accidental headbutts, kicks, and wild flailing limbs), he managed to knock out my two front lower teeth. One at a time. I swear, if there were an Olympic sport for stealthily breaking a parent's spirit (and dental structure) while asleep, he’d be a gold medalist.

Now, I’ve never been the most self-conscious person, but walking around looking like a hillbilly horror show did a number on my confidence. A trip to the dentist confirmed my worst fears—without intervention, my lower teeth would slowly shift and eventually just… fall over on their own. Fantastic. My options?

1: Remove all my lower teeth and get dentures, which would be free-floating, prone to falling out, and make eating steak a distant memory. Cost: $6,000+.

2: Go all in on "All-on-4" implants—four titanium screws drilled into my jaw to anchor a permanent set of teeth. A 6-hour operation, and oh yeah, an eye-watering $32,000 price tag, including an extra $7,000 just to be put to sleep so I wouldn’t sit there for 6 hours dreaming of a cigarette.

So, after raiding my superannuation (because, let's be honest, I wasn't waiting for my teeth to fall out one by one like a grim countdown to self-destruction), I just had the surgery two days ago. My face currently feels like it doesn’t belong to my body, I'm doped up on pain meds, and I’m probably not forming words properly yet… but hey, I’m back!

With that said, I have a couple of small trains. Get your tickets, checkpoints here - With no defined order, or significance, cos I couldn't be bothered:
I've prob screwed something up but they should be up for a week. -Yep, screwed up, I have an odd cart. 1 2 goes for two weeks. Oh noes, anything goes ^^

Train - Level 0
Train - Level 1
Train - Level 2
Train - Level 3
Train - Level 4
WL Train - Level Over 9000

1 week ago*

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Your dentist didn't give you the option of partials or a bridge? I had to get some teeth removed years ago and I ended up going with partials since that anchors to existing teeth and isn't just free-floating like dentures. Implants are the best option, but yeah....super expensive.

1 week ago
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Welcome back Althalus!

I don't know if it's possible in other countries, but I know that here, as a more affordable solution, such operations can be done in universities as an internship, under the supervision of professors.

How nice it is to be able to smile again...

1 week ago
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This will be a nice story to tell your son, when he wants to go to college. Or a car. ;)
Welcome back!

1 week ago
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Oh wow, quite the ordeal! It's going to take a while to get adjusted to your new crushing box, at least a few weeks. But once it's settled in, you should feel much better than before. I hope you get to feel both sides of your face in the coming days!

And thanks for the trains :D

1 week ago
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I hope you'll feel better soon!

1 week ago
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Welcome back! And thanks for the trains! :)

1 week ago
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Bump

1 week ago
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I don't know you, but happyness of being proud father is smth I gladly share. Welcome back!

1 week ago
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Bump and thanks!

1 week ago
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Yes, all-in 4 is an astronomical price, but it is the ultimate option for life! The tooth fairy could bring more))) In the future, I will bet all-in 4 or all-in 6. Health and patience to you and your loved ones! Thanks for the long train!

1 week ago
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welcome back !

that ordeal sounds excruciating and painful, ugh, i'm feeling pain from imagining it already.

I hope you get well soon, take care of yourself first !

1 week ago
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God.... I just became father as well. I hope my daughter wont have tendencies to destroy us financially when she will be able to run and move around as she pleases :D

But good to hear you had the options and possibility to go for the best procedure. Get well soon and hope the kid does not become repeat offender and destroy the new implants as well

PS. thanks for the train :)

1 week ago
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just book a plane ticket to turkey, get the job done, enjoy 1 month vacation and then enjoy your leftover $20000

1 week ago
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Welcome back, and I hope you have a quick recovery! Thanks for the trains.

1 week ago
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I've had one implant done so I have an idea what you had to go through. Hopefully insurance helped with the cost. Good luck!

1 week ago
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Welcome back. That sounds terrible, hope you'll get better soon. And thanks for the train!

1 week ago
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bump

1 week ago
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welcome back boop

1 week ago
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Welcome back and thanks for the train!

Good luck on your recovery!

1 week ago
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Bump.

1 week ago
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bump

1 week ago
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Bump!!
Thank you for the multi-shift train~~

Dental problems are expensive, but take good care of them, and with today's technology, they will last for decades!
Blessings to you~~

1 week ago
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Good to have you back Althalus!
And yikes! American healthcare really is the worst. :(

1 week ago
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welcome back, RL is always more important, so please remember to take care of yourself and your 5yo :D

1 week ago
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Hoping things go well from here on out bump

1 week ago
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