Wednesday, March 28

All I Want For Christmas

By Robbie Miranda
www.bmxonline.com

Every Christmas, I go back and visit my friends and family in my hometown of Woodbridge, Va. After a visit in 1999, little did I know I would leave my hometown with a life-altering injury after a horrible crash at a local skate park.

A bunch of friends and I had been riding street all day and we decided to go to the local skate park for the night session. When we got there, I thought that I was too much of a cool guy to put my helmet on, so I started riding without it. That was the biggest mistake of my life!

The skate park we were riding at was more of a roller-blade setup, as opposed to a bike park. So instead of having mellow transitions, everything was really steep. My first run through the park was my last. I jumped the small box jump and then proceeded to use the vert wall to turn around. The wall was so steep that I aired out a little, missed the whole transition, and hit face-first on the asphalt.

Instantly, I saw stars and remember jumping up from the crash in a complete daze. All the skin from my forehead to my chin was gone and I could feel my teeth pushed back into my mouth by touching them with my tongue. At this point, I knew I had crashed, but I was so messed up, I didn't even know where I was or why I was there. I remember asking people why I was in Virginia if I lived in California.

My face hurt so badly. I went to sit in the car to warm up and, the next thing I knew, I was being strapped to a stretcher and taken off in an ambulance. The following are steps that I've taken trying to get back to normal after this life-altering event happened to me.

Step 1
The day after my accident was Christmas Eve and there were no dentist offices open. I finally found a dentist, but he told me he wasn't qualified to do the work needed to pull out my broken teeth. I was referred to another dentist that took a couple of hours off of his Christmas shopping to help me out. This operation was to remove the broken teeth and extract the roots. This involved using pliers to pull the broken teeth out and a drill to clean out the root sockets. After some stitches were in place and the broken teeth were in my hand, I was on my way. (Price $800)

Step 2
After returning to California, I had to find a dentist that dealt with dental implants. My first step with my new dentist was to get me fitted with some fake teeth attached to a retainer so I could look normal again. (Price $600)

Step 3
Before I could get the implant surgery, I had to have a bone graph to replace and build up the area around my empty root sockets. This involved taking bone from my jaw and screwing it down where my front teeth once were. They had to cut my gums, flip the skin up and put the new bone in. Since I was put to sleep for this operation, the doctor thought it would be nice to take out my wisdom teeth at the same time. What a nice surprise when I woke up. (Price $3,000)

Step 4
Once the bone graph had settled for six months, I was ready for the implants to be placed. The implants are small titanium rods that are threaded on the inside for the tooth to be attached. To put these in, the doctor had to knock me out again and drill pilot holes in my gums so the implant screws would go in straight. After the implants were in place, my gums were once again sewn up and I was free to go. (Price $3,200)

Step 5
I haven't made it to step five yet, but it is the final step in this long process. I have to wait another six months for my implants to settle before taking that final step. Putting the custom-made teeth in will be the end of this whole ordeal.

It's been over a year, and thousands of dollars have been spent since this stupid crash, and I'm so ready to be done with it all. I thought that I was way too cool to wear my helmet. After all, I didn't plan on falling and getting hurt. But, as we all know, it happens when you least expect it, and I'm sure paying for it now. There's nothing worse than walking around with no front teeth or trying to eat food with a plastic retainer in your mouth. And trust me, the girls have no time for you if you're missing teeth, so forget it! These days, you bet I'm a big believer in wearing my helmet!