Mother of four gets free smile makeover worth $50,000

POCATELLO — A Georgetown mother of four was named the recipient of a free $50,000 smile makeover in November, and on Tuesday, she underwent the surgery.

Hannah Lyngar, 27, was selected by the Oral Surgery Specialists of Idaho as their first Second Chance program recipient to receive the procedure. Dr. Mark Baker said there were more than 400 applicants.

“This is life-changing,” Lyngar said. “I’m a happy person, and I like to make other people happy, and not having to cover my mouth to smile at someone is going to be fantastic.”

The stay-at-home mom began losing her teeth when her pregnancies took a toll on her body, including hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness characterized by nausea and vomiting.

Lyngar said her missing, decayed and broken teeth made her shy. Although she loves smiling, she’s spent years covering her mouth and using her upper lip to hide her teeth because she said she doesn’t want people to be grossed out.

“It will be great to be able to smile at my kids and not use my teeth to play with them by scaring them,” Lyngar said.

She had been saving money to get her teeth taken care of before she was announced as the winner, but bumps with medical coverage and a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit contributed to that not happening.

But Drs. Mark Baker and Shawn Jepsen of Dental Implant & Oral Surgery Specialists of Idaho, and Dr. Kyle Siemen at Sage Dental and Parkway Dental Laboratory Inc. are giving Lyngar a full-arch restoration treatment.

“We’re thrilled to provide a life-changing service for Hannah,” Baker said.

Lyngar was asleep during the procedure as doctors removed all her teeth and smoothed and corrected the bone to prepare it for dental implants. The dental implants are anchors that were placed in the bone on her upper and lower jaw. The anchors have special attachments that will hold a temporary denture for four to six months while her dental implants heal.

After that time, she will visit Siemen and have her final permanent teeth made.

“It’s a pleasure to serve our community,” Jepsen said. “We’re so happy to be part of southeast Idaho and have opportunities to do this for people we love and live around.”

Tuesday’s surgery took about four hours, and Hannah was looking forward to leaving the office with a new smile.

“I’m most excited to show my husband,” Hannah said. He’s a truck driver, and she isn’t sure when he’ll be home next. “I’ve told everyone they’re under strict orders to not send a picture to my husband. He’s not allowed to see until he can see in person.”

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