Dental implants have brought joy to a woman whose milk teeth never fell out.
Emily Cheeseman, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, told the Daily Mail that she has hypodontia, meaning she was missing six adult teeth.
Less than one per cent of people in Europe have such a severe form of the condition.
Ms Cheeseman, 28, had a full set of teeth as a child, but some never fell out, leaving her with a mixture of small, delicate baby teeth and larger permanent ones.
She explained that the problem had made her self-conscious and unwilling to smile, as well as making simple tasks such as eating difficult.
Seven years of dental treatment, begun when one of the fragile milk teeth was chipped, left her with a “new lease of life”, according to her dentist Oliver Harman.
Ms Cheeseman used Invisalign braces to neaten her existing teeth, which were also whitened when the dental implants were put in to further improve her new look.
She said that the cosmetic dentistry has given her the confidence to smile at last.
“It’s wonderful to have a full set of teeth at last,” she added.