Show #403 Airing Sunday, 10/14/07
In August, Joe Radican came in to talk about his decision to makeover his smile. At that time, we saw only "partial" results. Today he's back to "cap" our discussion by showing his "crowning" achievement. And with him is his "permanent" dentist, Dr. Steven Marsh.
Question: Joe, when we last saw you in August, you spoke about why you decided to have a dental makeover. Give us a quick summary.
Answer: I knew my lower teeth were really worn down.
My wife saw Dr. Marsh on television and actually made me an appointment. Once I went into the office, Dr. Marsh and took me through the process.
Question: And when we last saw you on "Golden Opportunities", Dr. Marsh had you smiling with temporaries, correct?
Answer: Yes, and the temporaries looked fabulous — you just had to be careful what you ate like avoiding chewing gum. And I have never experienced the first bit of pain during the whole process of getting the temporaries.
Question: Dr. Marsh, what was the approach with Joe's makeover?
Answer: First we took digital x-rays that showed us whether or not Joe, who was missing teeth, was a candidate for implants (yes on the bottom, no on top). We have to evaluate each tooth to decide what's needed and appropriate. That also showed us some additional decay that had to be cleaned out before additional work was done.
We made an impression of his teeth that helped us create a model. Then we did a wax-up that allowed us to see exactly what could be done for his smile. The model also allowed us to create temporaries for Joe to wear while the laboratory created his crowns and veneers.
Often, the biggest change the patient really experiences is when they begin wearing their temporaries, also called provisionals. Already, they have a new smile. But temporaries are different from the permanent teeth. They are made of plastic, not porcelain. They are not as strong as the permanent structures and have a more unnatural matte finish.
Question: What did you do from our last visit to now?
Answer: Joe came back in after three weeks of wearing the temporaries. We tried the permanent crowns and veneers in his mouth. We also put in two bridges. We needed no Novocain to do so.
The crowns and veneers are then bonded onto the teeth, not cemented. Bonding is translucent, as are the new porcelains, and that makes for a very natural looking result but won't fall out. Cement was opaque in nature, and did not look as natural.
The journey to a better smile can have a happy ending. My thanks to Dr. Steven Marsh and Joe Radican for telling the story. To learn more, or for a free newsletter call the number that's next.
