Jo Ann was really a happy lady, but she doesn’t look like it here. She was uncomfortable smiling because of her teeth. Some were broken. Some were discolored. And she had some old porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns that didn’t match her teeth.
You can see her problems in this photograph. Her natural teeth are a brownish color. The lateral incisors are porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Besides being opaque and unnatural in color, they are showing the dark line at the gumline that these crowns typically show. She said “I want you to fix my broken teeth, but don’t make it look like a set of white piano keys—I want them to look natural.” Dr. Thein assured her that he could do that.
Here are Jo Ann’s lower teeth. She had a bridge on her lower left (on our right), but it had come off. The span was simply too long for a bridge to hold up here. She would need either a removable partial, or if she was willing to spend more money, Dr. Thein could put in dental implants that would feel like her own natural teeth. The bridge on her lower right (our left) had broken. Some teeth were infected.
Here is how her upper arch looked before we started. Dr. Thein treated her dental infections and and removed her broken teeth and cracked bridges.
This post-operative x-ray shows her new dental work. Dr. Thein placed dental implants on the lower to replace the her missing teeth. Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and bridgework were used on her upper back teeth for strength.
“I am extremely pleased with my results and would recommend Dr. Thein to all who ask.” – Jo Ann
In the front, Dr. Thein used all-porcelain crowns and porcelain veneers. With all-porcelain crowns, not only is there natural translucency, but there is no dark line at the gumline. And the strength requirements for front crowns is not as great as on the back, where teeth are subject to heavy chewing stresses.
Dr. Thein then built a mock-up to let Jo Ann see what she could achieve with a dental makeover. This is a standard practice for Dr. Thein for dental makeovers. It’s one of the ways we make sure that you will love the looks of the final result. For more information about this, read about our beautiful smile guarantee.
Here is Jo Ann’s upper arch when we finished. Her gold crowns and silver fillings have been replaced with natural-looking ceramic restorations.