"From Uncomfortable Dentures To Beautiful Dental Implants - I Now Smile Confidently!"
I actually was born with a genetic condition called Dentinogenesis Imperfecta, which means I had bad teeth. They were very soft, and I spent an enormous amount of time throughout my entire life in the dental chair, trying to take care of the teeth that I had. So, typically, somebody who is born with dentinogenesis imperfecta they have very soft, very weak teeth. The inside of your teeth is the dentin, so my teeth were very soft, and they would break very easily, they were not really able to be restored. Typically, if you have a break or a cavity, you can get a filling or a crown. My teeth wouldn’t bond properly, so that was not really an option.
They were very soft, and I spent an enormous amount of time throughout my entire life in the dental chair, trying to take care of the teeth that I had.
Heidi:
Ultimately, when I was 30, I had the remaining teeth that I had removed and moved to conventional dentures, which were fine. I finally liked my smile, but there was some discomfort with conventional dentures, and it wasn’t a long-term permanent solution, especially because I was so young. As a young person, I had actually all of my baby teeth crowned with metal crowns, which preserved them. It was pretty traumatic, actually, as a small child to have silver crowns on all of your teeth, but it did allow my adult teeth to form. I had a lot of pain, a lot of discomfort. Something was always broken and sharp in my mouth, and something was always wearing down.
Dr. Blank:
Heidi was somebody we wanted to have an impact in changing her life because, at a very young age, she had to go into removable dentures. She lived with it and because of her bright personality, she adjusted.
Heidi:
A few years ago, I was very fortunate to have met Dr. Blank and given the opportunity to look at a new option, which is implant-supported hybrid dentures.
Dr. Blank:
She was extremely difficult in planning that case. We know tooth position based off of our technology. But in her case, because of missing teeth for so long, and the bone deficiencies, and the lip support deficiencies, and all the things that happen over time, it was very difficult to put those teeth in that position and make them match a natural-looking smile.
Heidi:
When we started this process, we did have to look at, “Do I have enough bone to support having implants?” On my upper arch, I did not have enough bone. So, they did have to do a full grafting and reshaping of my upper arch before that was able to be done.
Dr. Blank:
It was just as fun to have the successes with those difficult cases. Heidi, I am sure it can even attest to you, we worked hard.
Heidi:
But when I looked in the mirror for the first time and realized that I had a stable, healthy, functional smile that I loved, it was pretty powerful. I smile with confidence. I work in dentistry now. I help other people love their smiles, and it’s awesome to be able to feel confident in my smile. I think it helps me in my daily work to give other people the confidence to want, to love their smiles as well.
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