Show #377 Airing Sunday, 3/4/07
Many of us spend our days doing and caring for others: That gift of time is wonderful. But sometimes we need to consider giving ourselves a gift, too. Here to explain the benefits of a present that can make you smile is the gifted Dr. Steven Marsh and his patient, Nancy Koliha.
Question: Nancy, I understand you're a Golden Opportunities viewer?
Answer: Yes. I've followed the show and Dr. Marsh's makeovers on it for years.
Question: You've watched the show for a while. What made you decide that now was the time to take care of your teeth?
Answer: I had been a caregiver for my parents for about 10 years. 3 ½ years ago we moved in with them. At the end of last year, I realized that I was not really taking care of myself-a common problem with caregivers. So I decided that 2007 was going to be my year.
At the same time, I started being concerned about my teeth. I had Dr. Marsh's name and number from the show and gave him a call.
Question: What were your main concerns?
Answer: I started noticing holes and dark areas in my teeth, and couldn't pinpoint the problem. I was concerned my teeth were going to crack
Question: Dr. Marsh, can you walk us through the work you did on Nancy's smile?
Answer: Nancy tried very hard to take good care of her teeth, and in doing so, she actually overbrushed them. She brushed so hard, she went through the enamel and even put holes in her teeth. The teeth became thinner, and therefore translucent, which made them look very dark.
Before front
In order to brighten her smile, we used 16 porcelain veneers. This is actually a new porcelain color, and as you can see, it's very bright.
Before and after front
If you look at this view of her upper teeth, you can see that they have somewhat shifted. She also had some old silver fillings in her back teeth.
Before upper
Reshaping and veneers were able to fix the arch. The old fillings and any decay were cleared from the back teeth, and a tooth-colored composite filling was used.
Before and after upper
Question: And I understand that this was all done at once. Is that always possible?
Answer: Being able to do both the upper and lower teeth at once really depends upon the work that needs to be done. Nancy had 16 veneers. Her back teeth did not require crowns, only composite filling, so we were able to do all the teeth at once. And she had expressed interest in doing that, since she lives some distance away.
Question: Nancy, how do you like your smile now?
Answer: Love it.
Before and after face
If you're overworked, or have overbrushed your teeth, you may be ready for a dental overhaul. So get on "over" to the phone and give Dr. Marsh a call. The number's next. My thanks to Dr. Steven Marsh and Nancy Koliha.
