Scott – West Haven, CT
Smile Design: Full Mouth Reconstruction: Eight Upper Porcelain Crowns, Eight Lower Porcelain Veneers, with Posterior Bite Opening Restorations
Scott: “I write this letter of endorsement and testimonial with much delight and gratitude! The professionalism, dedication, humor, compassion, and overall good will that you all constantly expressed throughout the process of rebuilding my smile (and self-esteem) have been wonderful.
When I first contacted you I was in the middle of a major overhaul of nearly every aspect of my life. I had become very unhealthy and unhappy and had reached a breaking point. Luckily, I had a concerned and compassionate group of friends and family, and together with my medical doctor I began to think in new ways I began to change my diet and over the course of 16 weeks lost over 50 pounds and gained a new lease on life. I was definitely happier and beginning to like who I saw in the mirror, except, I did not see a happy smiling face looking back at me. Over the course of a decade or more of ill health and depression I had effectively ground my teeth down to such an extent that they did not show when I smiled. They were also much stained from years of tobacco smoke and chew, and coffee and overall neglect.
My journey back to a healthy happy smile began with oral surgery needed to repair a dramatically receding gum line (due to chewing tobacco). I was in danger of losing teeth and bone, and made a critical decision to change. After that change, I decided to look into an overall rebuilding of a smile. I had made headway in changing nearly every other aspect of my health, but I still did not smile or express my delight very often. My smile had receded into non-existence. I could not even find a single photograph of me smiling in which you could see teeth and perhaps that was by choice, as I knew my teeth were just stubs and very discolored, chipped and ugly. So, I was at a crossroads – feeling better about my body and mind, but still not my expression.
My search for a solution took me to the internet, where I immediately found your practice. I researched other practices and found few, if any that I felt were as dedicated. I was impresses with your history and professional participation, and decided to contact you. Once I heard from you (a very compassionate initial email and phone response) I knew that I was on the right track. After our initial meeting, I knew for sure that I wanted to move ahead with whatever process could help me rebuild my image. After we investigated some possibilities (new smile styles) I became so convinced of the process, that I negotiated a small home equity loan as a part of a home refinance already underway. Now I was ready for the big move.
At first I did not give it much thought that I was working with an all female practice. But that soon became one of the biggest reasons for continuing – that and the wonderfully compassionate personalities of Dr. Lerch, and Sheri! Your group dynamics, honesty, humor, dedication to your patients, all eased me through the many months it eventually took to rebuild my smile. I was nervous at first about the time it would take, the many visits, the temporary teeth, etc. but it was actually not an unpleasant process, made actually exciting and fun by your constant attention, humor and encouragement. And you made the whole financing process so non-stressful!
In earnest, I began to look forward to our meetings, as I knew I would be surrounded by a dedicated group of women who really knew how to make someone comfortable and confident. Even the 10+ hours it took to prepare my teeth¦ I don’t know that I ever would have survived the stress of that extensive preparation had it not been for the constant assurance and support I received. Now, with a whole new set of teeth, a big bright smile I do like who I see in the mirror!
I want to thank you and your team of highly skilled and compassionate professionals (and lively, funny, honest and very real, caring people) for the tremendous support and encouragement you have shown and the results have been spectacular! I love my new smile, and am assured every time I look in the mirror. That I can be happy and confidently show it! I would be happy to share my experience with anyone who is considering making such a positive change in their life. Get your smile back! Go to the Center for Esthetic Dentistry, LLC, and become a happier, more expressive person.”
Dr. Lerch: “Scott has really said it all here. Thank you most kindly! Scott is a delightful college professor who now can teach, smile, expound, create, invent, and laugh wholeheartedly while helping to mold the future leaders of America in his classrooms without a thought to his teeth. That is truly a wonderful thing!
Technically, Scott needed extensive work. We needed to open his bite by making all his teeth bigger, we needed to strengthen his teeth by placing crowns, not just veneers and we needed to be sure his bite was accurate, comfortable and stable or else he was sure to grind his teeth down again. Scott and I decided to do this in two phases. We started with splint therapy, we ordered a complete wax pre-view of his new set of teeth and we removed all the old fillings, decay and broken dental work that was in his mouth. Once his bite was stable on the splint, we preceded to open his back bite with composite fillings. Then we placed the porcelain crowns and veneers in the anterior region. The second phase will be to replace the back resin fillings with porcelain crowns to ensure a stable bite for years to come.”
