When I first met Taylor she was a shy, 15 year old who did not talk very much and her mother, Sandra, explained that they were here because Taylor was very self conscious about her teeth and never smiled. Taylor said she hated her smile because her teeth were too small with the gaps to large in between them, and the kids at school said she looked like a halloween pumpkin. Sandra explained (as she teared up), “a dentist already told us Taylor would need 4 dental implants put in the gaps and $40,000.00 of crowns and veneers that my insurance won’t cover. I can’t afford that and I’m wondering if there are any other options”?
When I examined Taylor I could see she had 3 issues we could correct.
1. She had a condition called microdontia where the teeth develop much smaller than normal resulting in irregular spaces between them.
2. Taylor had wide dental arches (jaws) which made these spaces look even bigger.
3. Her teeth looked very short because she also had “altered active eruption”, a condition where extra gum tissues cover part of the teeth.
I told Taylor I thought she had beautiful teeth and that most of the patients I saw would give anything to have teeth like hers (this made her smile). I said that I thought we could make Taylor’s teeth look bigger and close up the spaces without resorting to implants, crowns and porcelain veneers (this made her mom smile) but it would take a bit of time and a lot of trust on their part. Their trust was particularly important because I knew Taylor’s treatment would take several years to complete and during that time, the spaces and teeth were going to look worse before they looked better. In detail, I explained how I would refer Taylor to an orthodontist to realign her teeth but that she would still have spaces after this treatment. Then I would refer her to a periodontist to realign her gums according to a guide that I would provide which would make the spaces seem a little larger after the braces came off. Finally, once the gums and teeth were in the position that I planned for, I promised I would then close the spaces with some tooth coloured material to make her great smile, “beautiful”.
With the orthodontic treatment being covered by Sandra’s insurance, and the rest of the treatment being significantly less than $40,000 they had been quoted, both mother and daughter were eager to start treatment.
It took 4 years of total treatment time with the Orthodontist and periodontist to get Taylor to the point where I could start the tooth bonding procedure (Before Picture). In one appointment, using 6 different coloured composites and 4 tints I was able to close the spaces and invisibly blend the bonding with Taylors front 12 teeth. Four years of treatment, with three dental specialist finally gave Taylor the space free smile she always wanted and at a cost her mother could afford.
Shhhhhhh🤫 ……….Prosthodontists are dentistry’s best kept secret
See what Dr. Jeff Ceyhan can do for you!