Mr. B- Smile Transformation

It’s been a while since I shared a case study, and I can’t think of a better, more life changing case to share than what was recently completed on Mr. B. Talk about a smile transformation! Major changes like this one take TIME, PATIENCE, and a lot of TRUST. I can say that Mr. B was more than generous with each of those qualities, and I believe it paid off!Here’s a little history: I first saw Mr. B as a patient in 2018. At that time, he was complaining of chronic sensitivity of his teeth, and he was aware that he had severe erosion (wear) of his teeth. At the time, he was the sole care taker of his elderly mother, and undergoing major dental work was not an option. We assured him that we would be here to manage any dental issues he may encounter between then and when he became ready to move forward with a full mouth rehabilitation.Mr. B remained faithful to his 6 month recall appointments over the course of the following 2.5 years, each time letting us know that he understood what ultimately needed to be done. Fortunately, he had a very low cavity risk, healthy gums, and he took great care of his teeth.Go time:In December of 2020, Mr. B decided he was ready to move forward with his dental work. By this point, we had gotten to know each other better, and Mr. B gave me full reign on designing and rehabilitating his smile. Initial records were taken so we could start planning out exactly what needed to be accomplished. It came down to this:1. Eliminate sensitivity2. Restore lost tooth structure3. Improve estheticsAll three of these goals could be accomplished with full contour crowns on each tooth. I also explained to Mr. B the benefits of some gum contouring- to provide more tooth structure for the crowns to bond to and to give a more optimal esthetic outcome. He was on board and ready to begin!I communicated with my lab and was able to design a “mock up” smile- basically a roadmap for how I wanted the teeth to look. Using our in office 3D printer, we printed models in order to fabricate temporary crowns while the gums healed and the final crowns were made.Preparation Day 1:We decided to tackle the lower arch first. At this appointment, his lower teeth were prepared for crowns, gums were laser contoured, digital impressions were captured, and an initial set of temporary crowns were placed.Preparation Day 2:This appointment was almost identical to the first, but we worked on the upper arch instead. By the end of the day, Mr. B had a mouth full of new teeth, a completely different “feel” to his bite, and some pretty sore gums! 😬 Now we waited for healing.Waiting...Mr. B did a whole lot of waiting as I finalized the design of his crowns. We actually ended up swapping his original temporaries for a new set that more closely emulated the final crown design. It gave me the confidence to know I was happy with the esthetics before pulling the trigger on the finals. It also gave him time to adapt to his new bite and ensure that we didn’t have any joint or tooth pain because of the major changes.The Grand Finale:The entire GFFD team was thrilled to see this day come- almost 2 months from his initial appointment. It was finally here! Time to deliver his final crowns! Since the design was so similar to the previous set of temporaries, I did not have much hesitation that Mr. B would easily accommodate to the new crowns. We chose zirconia material, the strongest porcelain on the market, and I am proud of how beautiful it turned out. And check out how well his gums healed!Wow! This is the dentistry that I LOVE the most. And I’m happy to report that Mr. B no longer has tooth sensitivity!If you suffer from debilitating sensitivity or feel like you may be a candidate for a full mouth rehabilitation, let’s talk. This type of dentistry takes a lot of planning and forethought, and I would be honored to guide you through the process!