A patient walked into the office today and told me she was referred by her neighbor who brings her whole family here.
She was married off when she was very young and started a family. The 48 year old woman went on to tell me that her son’s wedding is coming up and she hates her smile. Her and her husband devoted their lives to their children and rarely took care of themselves. They had them in private schools, and in their teens had to buy them cars and of course the very expensive college tuition came along thereafter. Through the years, expenses for the home and children added up and she was never able to invest in her own self and smile.
The patient said, “Finally we have successfully raised our children and now it’s time for me to focus on myself.” “The one thing I’ve always wanted was to fix was my teeth.” I asked her what she hated about her teeth and she said that all of her teeth are overlapping and crooked. They are so yellow because she is a coffee drinker and a former cigarette smoker. She said “I’m happy to say that I have finally quit smoking for a year and want to regain my general health and smile. The only thing I’ve done was regular cleanings and cavity fillings whenever I had them.
I asked her what she expected and she told me that she wants perfect, white, straight teeth. She wants to love to smile and not be self-conscious. I recommended the regular cleaning since it had been a little over 6 months that the patient had her last cleaning. A one hour in office whitening was also recommended prior to getting her teeth crowned.
She had the option of getting invisible braces instead of the teeth crowned, but she wanted her smile perfected within a couple of weeks, so the invisible braces were out of the question. She also had old, yellow discolored fillings on the front of her teeth which was another reason getting her teeth capped was the better option than just braces. I would have recommended veneer facings on the teeth if the patient was not a severe grinder. Veneers are more prone to fracture in people who grind their teeth than crowns or caps. I will also fabricate a bite guard following treatment to protect her beautiful dental work from fracture due to her severe grinding habit. The patient only has the temporary crowns on, since it takes approximately 10 days to have the lab fabricate the permanent ceramic crowns, but her smile is already brighter with the new white shade temporary crown color we chose. The patient was in tears because of how happy she is with the already transforming beautiful white smile.