Shane MacGowan has shown off his new smile after undergoing what his dental surgeon described as "the Everest of dentistry". MacGowan lost his last natural tooth in 2008. However, he decided to get a new set of dentures; the work was documented by Sky Arts for a programme titled Shane MacGowan: A ...
Shane MacGowan has shown off his new smile after undergoing what his dental surgeon described as “the Everest of dentistry”.
MacGowan lost his last natural tooth in 2008.
However, he decided to get a new set of dentures; the work was documented by Sky Arts for a programme titled Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn which aired last night (December 20).
Darragh Mulrooney, the Irish dental surgeon who operated on MacGowan, described the job as being among his most challenging. Extending his Everest metaphor, he told The Independent: “There was a whole team required to get to the summit.”
Shane MacGowan has a new rack of teeth. A #Festivus miracle! pic.twitter.com/EBTjcpB1Ct
— Paddy Quinn (@PQMiramichi) December 20, 2015
MacGowan had 28 dentures fitted alongside one gold tooth in a procedure which took nine hours. The work has already begun to affect the musician’s diet, as his surgeon explains, and should also improve his singing ability: “There was a moving moment when someone gave Shane an apple to eat … something he hadn’t done in 20 years.”
“Shane recorded most of his great works when he had some teeth to work with,” Mulrooney added. “The question on everyone’s lips is how it will affect his voice. The tongue is a finely attuned muscle and it makes precise movements. We’ve effectively retuned his instrument and that will be an ongoing process.”
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