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.

Awakening Times Three

I got hit on the side of the head last night. It started when one of my celebrity patients got hit on the side of the head. After her daughter got hit on the side of the head.

After an enjoyable dinner with friends last night, I had the pleasant opportunity to visit with one of my celebrity patients. "I just love my smile, but you don't know what happened the other day." She went on to say that her daughter saw her Murano Veneers TV commercial for the first time. In the commercial, Paris (name changed) gives heartfelt testimony that she has spent most of her life taking care of the needs of her husband and children, but having smile improvement with murano veneers is finally something she has decided to do for herself.

"Mom, did you really say that?" her daughter asked. "Why did you say that?"

Paris, in astonishment, relays to her daughter that she gave this testimonial because it was true.

At this point, Paris explained to me that she could see puzzlement in her daughter's facial expression. Paris did not need to explain any further, and within seconds her daughter realized for the first time that her mother had sacrificed much of her life for her family. An awakening!

Immediately, the second awakening occured as Paris came to terms with the fact that her daughter had no idea of the sacrifices Paris had made for the family over the years. The good news was that Paris also understood that she and her daughter were on the precipice of newfound understanding of love and appreciation for each other.

After their discussion, Paris took her daughter to the Jacobs Smile Center website and they looked at the before and after photos of her. Neither Paris or her daughter could even remember what she looked like before her transformation. It was as if they had both shut out the memory. Paris relived once again how painful it was for her to smile before she entered her new life. "People stop me everywhere. I know what they are going to ask. " "Can I see your smile?" Each time it gets easier, and more fun, and more special for Paris to have become the beautiful, confident celebrity that she is today.

Paris thanked me again, and of course it was only my pleasure. What a wonderful feeling to know that Paris's new smile has not only given her the celebrity of familiarity within her community, but more importantly (and surprisingly) the satisfaction in knowing that her family now appreciates her more for the great sacrifices she has made for them. What great love does a mother have for her children, but what great rewards when she knows they "get it."

Thanks, Mom!