Pastor Phil Allen is finally able to look in the mirror and smile again.
This as he finally had the dental implants placed on Thursday, something he has been waiting years to have done.
“Amazing, absolutely amazing,” Allen said.
Allen has been fighting to get the procedure completed after his previous dentist, Half Dental, closed down halfway through the procedure.
That left the pastor toothless for years, until he got some help.
"No more hiding. I can talk to people now,” Allen said of his new teeth.
The group behind getting Allen’s smile fixed was led by Yvonne Nosik.
She worked at Half Dental when Allen was a patient, but left to start her own business, 32teethcheckup.com where she reconnected with the pastor.
"I assured him I would find him a dentist one day to do the work," Nosik said.
Nosik said she was able to get Dr. Blair Isom to agree to complete work on the implants.
Isom saying he didn’t even hesitate to pay it forward after hearing about Allen’s ordeal.
"You don't want a black eye on the industry when somebody gets stung," Isom said.
They had some help.
The implant company, Neodent, donated the supplies to make sure Allen didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket after losing $10,000 when Half Dental closed down.
"Just seeing that genuine happiness is an awesome thing to witness," Wayne Wright, a Neodent representative said.
As Allen looked at the results of the work, he couldn’t help but smile.
"I don't know what to say, I've never felt more humble in my life." Allen said of the support.
The pastor already busy setting his schedule to show off the smile.
"I've actually got three weddings scheduled," Allen said.
He’s also planning to return to giving sermons at church in the coming weeks.
When it comes to adding solid foods back to his diet, the group made sure he had something to sink his teeth into.
Nosik got Fleming’s Steakhouse in Summerlin to give Allen a steak dinner for two as a celebration for completing the procedure.
