From Hate to Love, A Happy Smile Story

From Hate to Love 

She came to our office with a serious problem. She hated her teeth! She hated the way that they looked and she hated the way they felt. Her front teeth were actually shifting outwards, starting to protrude from her mouth. Because of gum recession and substantial bone loss, her teeth looked longer and narrower than they should have, and there were dark colored gaps between each tooth. She had trouble chewing because she had no back teeth, and her teeth were becoming wiggly and unstable.  She was ready for a change! It was time for her to love her smile.

When she came in for her initial appointment, Dr. Bishop did a thorough examination and discovered she had four different options that would work well with her anatomy. Luckily, she had enough bone left to support implants, which means she could have something more stable than just a conventional denture, which was her first option. Her second option was a locator denture– a removable denture attached to two implants, giving greater stability and chewing function than an unsecured denture.  Option three included a partial denture and some implant bridges to replace her missing back teeth. The final option was the All-On-Four, a firmly secured bridge that is attached by four implants.

We gave Ms. X a treatment plan complete with exact prices for each different option. Dr. Bishop took some time to educate her on the pros and cons of each, answered her questions and made his recommendation. Ms. X took the next few days to think. Meanwhile, we did a complimentary benefits check to see what her insurance would cover.

A Decision Is Made 

Ms X called to tell us she wanted the All-on-Four.  We were all pretty excited! It’s such a great treatment, and our patients come away so happy. It’s the closest thing you can get to having your natural teeth back—you can even eat steak, bite into apples and chew toffee! And, of course, they look amazing, too. No more gaps, no more discoloration, no more long, narrow misshapen teeth! It was an easy fix for her issues.

Our financial team went to work planning out exactly how we could maximize her benefits anddecrease her personal costs. We were able to match her treatment timing to coincide with separate benefit years, which enabled her to have the most coverage possible. We financed the rest of the cost for her, so she was able to make payments over time on her treatment, and didn’t have to break the bank with one lump sum.

A Happy Smile

Once temporary teeth were first evaluated, Ms. X came in to try them on. She would never have noticed that her midline was off a few millimetres, or that her teeth had a slight slant to it. But, Dr. Bishop saw it right away and wanted them to be perfect. He showed her what was happening, and we took a little longer to make sure those flaws were corrected before we attached her new teeth.t last, final treatment day arrived! In five hours, Ms. X went from hating her teeth to having complete chewing function and a spectacular smile. Her case went very smoothly. Ms. X left our office bubbling with excitement about her new teeth!

She has been thrilled with her smile ever since 🙂  Want to learn more?  Here is a short video where Dr. Bishop describes the All-on-Four procedure.