Wow Dentistry
A WOW moment is an experience that infuses you with a feeling of exuberant exultation. Be it a first-hand accomplishment (passing the Bar, making a game-winning half-court shot, becoming a parent) or witnessing a truly remarkable achievement (Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon, Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” oratory, Michael Jordan performing other-worldly moves on the basketball court), a WOW moment can leave you with a sense of awe and wonder.
Well, I recently had a WOW moment in my office while caring for a most beloved patient (whom I will refer to as G) who was afflicted with a potentially life-altering dental crisis. G’s unwavering trust in me had her travel nearly two hours to be seated in my dental chair. She is a most elegant woman filled with poise and grace. And she was about to lose most of her upper teeth and with them, her beautiful smile and perhaps even her sense of “self.”
A bit of background. I first treated G many years ago. Then, as now, she was dealing with a significant dental dilemma. At that time I was able to restore her mouth, her smile, and her confidence. (I know this because she has emphatically and repeatedly told me so.)
After I completed G’s rehabilitation her job changed and she had to move away from the area. It then became an all-day experience for her to visit me for her routine care cleanings, examinations, etc. And the months passed.
Despite my repeated suggestions, which turned to urging, for G to seek more consistent dental care (I had made several referrals to fine dentists that were more conveniently situated) she refused – I mean REFUSED! – to see another dentist, even for a check-up. And the years passed.
Much to my distress, the state of G’s dentition dramatically deteriorated and barely two months ago she appeared in my office in crisis and in need.
Fast forward to now.
Last Thursday, I extracted nearly all of G’s upper teeth, performed extensive bone grafting, and strategically placed five implants. And here’s the really, really cool part – with a very sophisticated state of the art intraoral scanner, I was able to capture digital images of her mouth and the implants I had just placed (essentially capturing a very accurate digital impression of her jaws without the goo of a conventional dental impression). I then emailed the images and other pertinent information to a nearby digital dental lab that then computer-designed a beautifully elegant and precisely fitting provisional (temporary) using a computer guided three-dimensional milling machine.
Four hours later (all the while, G had remained reclined in my office watching television, drinking smoothies, napping, schmoozing with the office staff, and strolling about) I inserted the provisional restoration by affixing it to the newly placed implants and replaced all of the teeth I had removed earlier that day!
Did I mention that the temporary is elegantly designed, precise in fit, and absolutely beautiful? And, might I add, the digital impression captured in my office was so accurate and detailed that it took me but 30 minutes to deliver the eight-tooth temporary bridge and secure it to its implant foundation.
When G looked at herself in the mirror, she was ecstatic, my staff was jubilant, and I was on top of the world.
That’s what I call WOW DENTISTRY…exceeding expectations with the use of knowledge, experience, and honed clinical skills, coupled with state-of-the-art technology to achieve what was not so long ago…inconceivable.