Angie Barlow used superglue to mend loose teeth for over a decade.

Image via BBC.

Angie Barlow, a woman from Manchester, had such a fear of going to the dentist, that she reattached a broken tooth with superglue for more than a decade.

The 48-year-old woman who is featured in a new BBC program, The Truth About Your Teeth, said that she resorted to sticking her teeth back in with glue after she became too frightened of seeking professional help because she lost her mother to throat cancer.

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Ms Barlow explained that was very ashamed of her teeth, saying that she was embarrassed to talk to anyone, even her own son.

“I’m embarrassed to sit and have a conversation with him. So I just turn my head away while I talk to him. Half the time I talk with my hand over my mouth,” she said.

She explained that she used common household superglue to stick her tooth back in when it fell out.

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“I use glue on the top of the tooth and then I put it back in place until the glue is set,” she explained to BBC.

As she pushed the tooth back in, the glue spreads across her other teeth.

A dentist who features on the program, Dr Serpil Djemal, a consultant and clinical lead at Kings College Hospital, told the BBC that the fear of going to the dentist is a wider social problem, and that "in [Ms Barlow's] particular case, she was so afraid of going to the dentist... that she resorted to using superglue to stick her tooth back in her mouth."

Ms Barlow, who is now 48, was gluing her teeth back in for over a decade. The toxic chemicals in the glue caused considerable damage to her upper jaw, and resulted in her losing 90 per cent of the bone supporting her teeth. She originally caused damage to her teeth, causing them to fall out, from smoking. (Post continues after gallery.)

The dentists in the program removed most of her teeth, and screwed in false teeth. Ms Barlow spent most of her life savings on the treatment.

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During the operation 11 of her top teeth were extracted and six titanium screws were inserted into her jaw with 12 new teeth permanently attached.

After the procedures to restore her teeth, Ms Barlow says that she is more outgoing, now that she no longer has to hide her smile.

"It's wonderful isn't it, I feel amazing, and there's no hands over my mouth or embarrassment."

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"People have said they notice a difference in me. My friends, they're just like "oh my God, you're more outgoing"' She said.