In 2006 I had to have seven teeth removed prior to a heart operation.

The decade 2000 to 2010 was all together a terrible one for me with many family losses amid the divorce, deaths, early retirement, and other issues, and having had my teeth removed didn’t help my emotional state nor confidence.

I had two implants in Bath, in 2009, thanks to Philip Pettemerides, but my upper jaw still had five gaps filled with a denture.

Once I’d moved to Wirral, in 2010, friends started to suggest finding a new man in my life, but my teeth were still a problem for me – missing, crooked, I had no wish to smile, and said I’d never find another man till my teeth were fixed.

I found two great guys in Wirral, who were willing to work in harmony over the 18 months it took to give me back my smile and confidence – Joe Dwyer, orthodontist and Simon Wright, implantologist.

23rd December 2016 was the time all the dental work was finished and June 2017 was the date I found my ‘new man’ and now partner, Michael Robinson. I’m now 69 and he’s 67.