I’ve got a patient who sticks out in my mind. She came to me. She had neglected her teeth for a very, very long time, and she had broken down teeth, rotten teeth, gum disease. Her mouth was a mess. She came to me, and really, she had neglected her teeth because she had this terrible fear of dentists, surprise, surprise.
I did my best to put her at ease, and slowly she started to feel comfortable. She would come for treatment, and by the time we completed treatment, the majority of her teeth were missing. They weren’t even in her mouth, and those that were left were rotten or were so severely broken down that they weren’t restorable.
We ultimately had to take out the remaining teeth. She maybe had 9 or 10 remaining teeth out of 32 that she started with. We ended up having to take all the teeth out. I did upper and lower dentures for her.
The difference in her, not just in her appearance, but her personality, it was something that I won’t forget. She came to me kind of down and dejected and depressed. She was super conscious of smiling. She had to be conscious of how she ate, because she had so few teeth that it was very challenging for her to eat.
She even told me after having the dentures that her digestion, her overall health, and the way that she felt was much better. You can imagine that if you don’t have the teeth to chew the food and break it down properly, then your digestive tract pays the price, and your health in general because you’re not getting the same nutrients that you would otherwise.
After we completed treatment and I delivered her upper and lower dentures, I’ve seen her several times since, and every time I see her she has a smile on her face and she looks great. It was just one of those night and day, one of those cases where it was just an incredible difference. It certainly made a difference in her appearance, but also her personality and her mental health, too.
