To ask what you would advise my friend after losing his front tooth pre interview

[Feelingabitashamed]

I have no idea what to advise my friend!

Really hope this isn't rude to anyone with teeth missing.

He has 3 interviews for accounting jobs in the City this week and start of next after being made redundant.

All going well except that he has lost a front upper crown by accident and now has a big gap. He can't get a dentist's appointment before next Tues. He apparently wants to see his own dentist as the reason the tooth was removed was complicated.

I don't know all the details about his tooth but assuming he can't get it fixed, he doesn't know whether to let the interviewers know about this beforehand.

It is quite a conservative industry and he is worried it will make a bad impression having a front tooth missing, but isn't sure that emailing first will come across stranger.

As he has been made redundant and it seems to be a slow period for recruitment, he can't afford to lose out on work based on impressions.

His main worry is that because he is quite young and muscly (he goes to the gym a lot), they might think he has been fighting.

I know it's an odd question but please help!

YABU= he should let interviewers know first
YANBU= he should not

I mean, maybe he could mention it in the interview in a good humoured way but if it is very structured or formal, he may not get chance.

Personally I think he should call and offer to reschedule. Say he’s had a root canal that unfortunately went wrong, he has an appointment to fit a tooth on the Tuesday but he’s worried about first impressions.

It’s up to them whether they judge, but at least if they know it’s a talking point!

I worked in the city for some time and I think in his shoes I'd send an email the preceding day that's short and light - "I wanted to let you know before we meet in person tomorrow that I'm waiting for some tricky dental work and so at the moment have a gap where one of my front teeth ought to be. I'm not in any pain and am happy to interview as I ordinarily would. I look forward to meeting you both tomorrow."

Maybe he could mention/explain it in a jokey/ apologetic way at the beginning of the interview and then just continue and do a professional interview and try not to let it put him off. I can’t really see any other way to get round it ‘subtly’. I think letting them know prior may be a bit weird or OTT?

I wouldn’t email ahead. When I meet the interviewers I would just say, “Please excuse the gap in my teeth - I’ve lost a crown and the earliest appointment I can get is next week.” And then move on and do the interview as normal.

I'd go for mentioning it at the interview. Probably during the bit at the start where they ask about how the journey was and where you've travelled from etc.

I wouldn't say anything before the interview but it would be the first thing I mentioned at the interview. I had an interview a few weeks after I had a nose op and I kept sniffing because my nose was running, so I was upfront, apologised, we laughed about it, a tissue box was tossed at me and it broke the ice.

I would say something beforehand as it will remove the inevitable shock factor of it being clocked upon meeting.

If he says nothing or it is inappropriate to the interview to mention it/makes it potentially unprofessional then that would be worse than an upfront and honest FYI beforehand.

At least he’ll be memorable! Hope it goes well for him

If he had been interviewing at my old firm the assumption would have been that it had been knocked out playing rugby (which would have been totally fine, if not an active positive). I like Hercules advice above, or could he not make a reference to the complicated reason it was knocked out? If they don't offer to reschedule (and they might not, if they have to make offers to the next training cohort by a certain date) I would just show up early, dressed smartly and ready to roll and tackle it head-on.

"Hello, thanks for inviting me for interview. I know my tooth is distracting and I apologise, such bad luck - I was playing jai alai a few years ago and lost the tooth when the ball hit me in the face, and the crown fell out eating an apple yesterday preparing for the interview. Yes I'm the word jai alai champion and run a league for underprivileged kids in my spare time. The tooth's being replaced tomorrow."

Funnily enough, I have been in exactly this situation. I sent them an email in advance and mentioned it again at the start of the interview. Just so they were clear that I was aware of how bad it looked and that it was only a temporary situation. I got the job.

I wouldnt let them know in advance but would draw attention to it immediately along the lines of " I.must apologise for the gap..my crown came out last night and I didnt want to cancel the i interview as I am keen to work for this organisation etc. Hopefully it shows my commitment lol"

Dunno really. If he emails and reschedules it looks mega flaky and tbh they wouldn't believe him.

I'd mention it first thing at the interview.

Yes I'm the word jai alai champion and run a league for underprivileged kids in my spare time

^^

I'd reschedule if possible. Get an appointment ASAP, then ring them and schedule one for after it stating I'm sorry but I've an urgent medical appointment for that day. It'll be too weird in any way for people to get past. Even if approached right, it's still that first 7 second impression that's wrong. Even from the handshake.

I'm
A dentist and if this happened to any of my regular registered patients I would do everything I could to accommodate them, even with something temporary in the meantime. I class this as an emergency. Tell your friend to walk into the dentist, speak very nicely to receptionist and ask politely if they can help you.

On a practical note, is his speech impaired without a front tooth? I do sympathise: I have a crown there and live in terror of it coming out at an awkward moment.

had to look up jai alai!! Looks completely lethal for teeth!

Thanks everyone, seems like a steer towards letting them know beforehand. Hercules that's a really nice breezy message to send.

Stevenage I believe he has been in as he was really hoping to get seen. I think he said his dentist is away, it's just really bad timing- dentist away, interviews scheduled

Gormless (one of my favourite words!) I've just spoken to him on facetime and it doesn't sound too bad luckily

I think emailing about it would seem weird. And they may interpret it as him being over self-conscious about his appearance.

"Over self-conscious" - anyone would be self conscious about it, and the panel will understand that instinctively.

If he still has the crown I'd be glueing it back on for the interviews with a bit of emergency dental cement from Home Bargains.

It’s not long since Christmas. Somebody may still have a pair of Groucho Marx glasses with the nose and moustache attached that fell out of a cracker. He can wear those.