Overcoming 1980's Dentistry

Hey, the 80's called. They want their teeth back!

When I first started practicing dentistry in the 1980's, the most common, least expensive thing we could do for someone who had a large space between their front teeth was to fill the space with two large crowns.

Quickly, we realized that running around flashing two humonstrous chiclets wasn't exactly sexy.

Our next generation solution for this problem was to crown the front four teeth instead to divide out the extra space between more teeth. This worked better, but the teeth generally owned two faults: They looked wider than they were tall, and there was a funny shape to the gum tissue beteween the two front teeth due to missing tissue.

Enter the 2000's . . . Contouring the gingival tissue to make the teeth look larger, and to create a natural "emergence profile" combined with fabrication of murano veneers and crowns really produces a smile that shines on. The gum tissue is contoured with a laser to simulate natural gum contours and "points" between the teeth. Murano veneers and crowns are computer designed to capture natural size and shape relationships between all the smiling teeth.

The photos above illustrate a recent success at the Jacobs Smile Center. The before photo shows the 80's style dentistry, while the after photo highlights what can be accomplished with the technologically superior murano veneers and crowns and laser recontouring - gum lift - of the tissues. The photos have been taken about 3 weeks apart.

Oh, yeah, I also did some ZOOM! whitening to round out the brilliance of her smile.

This lady is very active publicly, and tells me that many people have commented on her beautiful new smile. "I can't believe I waited so long," she tells me. I'm glad it was worth the wait.

20/20 Vision

This week marked the 20th anniversary of Vickie's partnership with the Jacobs Smile Center. We celebrated the occasion with an outdoor party complete with tent, cake, and Schwann's ice cream for our guests.

Vickie came to our practice with the retiring Ed Kuivinen, DDS in 1989. Ed said, "You'll want to keep Vickie. She knows everyone, and everyone likes Vickie." Vickie has been a true partner in the growth and development of our dental practice. She has understood the importance of serving each and every one of our patients in a sincere, caring way. The importance of each individual's welfare is most important to her.

20 years has seen the advent of new things in dental care. Vickie has transformed successfully through the change from 2-handed dentistry to 4-handed dentistry. She has seen the change from "cleanings" to comprehensive periodontal therapy. She has ushered in the technologies of computers in every treatment room, digital patient charting, digital xrays, laser cavity detection, and laser gum therapy.

Vickie has developed a keen eye for matching tooth color, and has become an educated critic about the perfection of cosmetic dental results, holding us all to a higher standard!

Vickie has cared for patients in need, anxious patients, patients suffering personal loss or trauma. She has given of herself to patients who have lost a loved one. She's shared the hurt of a patient having to commit their loved one into nursing home care after many years of trying to take care of them at home. She's counceled the parents of children sent to jail. She's shared her testimony and the Word with children returning from long term addiction treatment.

Thank God for Vickie, and for all the Vickies in the world. You make each day easier. You elucidate and validate the value and purpose of those you touch daily.

20 years comes and goes quickly. Thank you Vickie for having the trust in our vision to serve our patients in many ways. Thank you for helping shape our vision for the 20 years that are yet to come.

Lip Repositioning

NEW PHOTOS! Temporary Lip Repositioning at:
http://dentalnation.blogspot.com/2010/09/reversible-lip-repositioning-surgery.html


What can you do when your lips and your gums are fighting for attention, and your gums are winning? Now you have an option of a little-known procedure called lip repositioning surgery.

The photo above shows Jean's smile one week ago immediately before the procedure. This is not an exaggerated smile, but rather an easy smile she exibits in conversation. I had previously performed a laser gum lift to remove some of the tissue covering up her teeth. This helped her smile a great deal, but she still had an excessive amount of gum tissue displaying when she smiled.

Jean shared with me that she had been conscious of her gummy smile all of her life. "I try not to smile too big when I can help it," she declared.


In this second photo is Jean's smile one week postoperative to her lip repositioning surgery. I asked her to give me the highest smile that she could for this photo. "That's all I've got," she said, smiling and beaming simultaneously. "It looks great. I can't thank you enough." (Did I mention that I got a hug?)

This is remarkably simple and life changing!

During this procedure, I removed a small, shallow strip of inner cheek tissue from under Jean's upper lip. Removing this small strip of tissue and suturing the area into a new position immediately gave this result. The procedure generally takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and is painless. Jean did say that she had some discomfort for the first day or two, but that it was relieved with ibuprofen. She also said that she would do it again in a heartbeat. "I know a lot of people who could use this," she told me.

I've recently added this procedure to the list of things I like to lecture about. Contact me for further information about this if you desire.

Also visit: http://dentalnation.blogspot.com/2009/07/reason-to-smile.html for Jean's final glamour photos.

NEW PHOTOS! Temporary Lip Repositioning at:
http://dentalnation.blogspot.com/2010/09/reversible-lip-repositioning-surgery.html