SHARONVILLE, Ohio — One local cancer survivor said she feels like she's started a new life after getting the chance to smile again.
Lauren Bruns was first diagnosed with colon cancer at 45. She fought it twice, sacrificing her smile while undergoing chemoradiation.
"My teeth just started crumbling and falling out of my mouth," Bruns said.
Just months after her treatment, Bruns' husband died. After such a difficult period, the mother of two said she didn't have time to focus on her looks. Instead, she put all she had into her girls.
But while getting ready for big events like graduations or weddings, Bruns said she would feel insecure about her looks.
"You feel like you can't smile because people are going to see you're missing all these teeth or your teeth are rotting," Bruns said.
That's where Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Specialists of Cincinnati step in.
The group surprised Bruns on Wednesday with the news that she will be this year's recipient of their "Smile Again" program, giving her a $50,000 dental repair surgery at no cost. Oral surgeon Robert Lucas said Bruns will receive a full set of artificial teeth.
"The process starts with my team. When she comes in, she’ll have digital representations taken of the facial structures of her bone structures," he said.
Next, he said they'll do the mold making, surgery and then she'll have a recovery process to get Bruns back to the smile she knows and loves.
Lucas said Bruns is expected to have her smile back in March 2025.
"To be able to have my smile back," Bruns said with tears in her eyes, "this is like a new life to come for me."
