People stare at me at times? i think they can sense my mouth isnt quite right. Sometimes i have trouble forming a word. But i try not to let it bother me, but it does happen. i'm 46 so at this age you sort of learn to laugh at that. i also lost a front upper tooth cause of a tight tmj appliance so i wear a partial thing that replaces the ONE tooth. UGG, but people can tell that tooth is just not right. Does anyone feel self consious? One time i was at the dentists, and a woman was there and she had her hand over her mouth to hide the fact she broke off her tooth. She went to get a magazine and in a split second, i had flipped out my denture, and had a big smile on my face with a big HOLE!!! she laughed like crazy.... so you cant get upset over these things. cause if your a nice person, it really doesnt matter to others..... getting better, IS the most important thing for us to do and to stick together and figure out how to fix this TMJ!!!! cindy