Onyeka Okongwu is going to have to chew on just one side of his mouth for a while after he ran into Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

The Atlanta Hawks forward took a hard right elbow to the side of his face from Brown during Wednesday’s 117-106 win. It sent him to the ground, clutching his face in agony. Things looked bad when he stood up bloodied on TD Garden parquet, but then Okongwu made it clear after the game just how bad it was.

If you’re squeamish or scared of the dentist, you might need to look away. But if you’ve ever wanted to know what it looks like when two teeth explode out of your mouth once, then this is the visual you’ve been waiting for.

The result of a Jaylen Brown ELBOW…

Onyeka Okongwu IG Story: pic.twitter.com/Win5xSgoQZ

— Wanahooper (@wanahooper) January 29, 2026

“I don’t know what he’s gonna need, but he’s pretty banged up,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “He took quite a shot. I told him, he’s still handsome, but it’s a good thing that people can repair his teeth.”

Brown was apologetic after the game, though he did receive a flagrant foul for the wayward elbow.

“Just being aggressive like I always am,” Brown told reporters. “Just a basketball play. It’s unfortunate. Okongwu is a good player. I know from my own experiences with a fractured face and chipped teeth, that (stuff) is a hassle. It wasn’t intentional, and I know it’s going to be a long day at the dentist tomorrow, so hopefully he has a good recovery.”

Brown broke a bone in his face in 2023 after he took a hit from teammate Jayson Tatum in a game. He then donned a black protective mask on his face when he returned.

This is not the first time teeth have been lost on an NBA court, though the image of Okongwu is one of the more gnarly ones we’ve seen. Two of Carl Landry’s teeth got stuck in Dirk Nowitzki’s elbow in a 2009 game between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. Celtics guard Derrick White lost his fake front tooth after an elbow from Kelly Oubre knocked it out during a March 2025 Celtics game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Danny Granger lost two teeth against the Celtics in 2008 (why are the Celtics involved so much here?). Oklahoma Sooners guard Duke Miles lost a few teeth last season when he hit the floor for a loose ball in an SEC game (a trainer was kind enough to find them and pick them up).

Okongwu might have lost some teeth, but on the bright side, he scored 17 points in a win. And now he has an Instagram profile picture for life.