Given that Dr Cameron Arnold saw Jenny regularly (as one of her hairdressing clients), it was inevitable that she would voice some of her concerns about her smile to him during his time in her chair. As always, Cameron was happy to talk teeth.

“Essentially we had someone with a very pretty face and very photogenic but then when she smiled she had spaces in between her front teeth and some damage to the enamel which detracted from everything,” Cameron says. “When you have that sort of damage to front teeth it really prematurely ages you and so (when you correct it) the reverse applies.”

After the addition of 4 veneers to her upper front four teeth, Jenny is having a difficult time keeping up with the compliments. “It’s given me a lot of confidence. Everyone always comments on how nice my teeth are so I don’t feel self conscious. I am more than happy to flash my pearly whites now!” 

“It’s always hard to tell a patient they are going to lose teeth,” says Dr Arnold. Anita remembers being so shocked to hear that she was going to lose her whole set of top teeth that she broke down in response. “I wasn’t ready for it at all,” says Anita.“But we were able to save the bottom teeth so it was lucky for me that I went to him early enough.”

The days when your only option for missing teeth was to put up with a gap or to get full dentures are gone. Instead, many people these days are choosing dental implants. Dental implants provide several advantages over other tooth replacement options. But basically their major selling point is that they look and function like a natural tooth. This meaning that they are locked solid into your jaw so you can bite into all of your favourite foods. And implants are cleaned exactly like you would your natural teeth.

“They don’t move and I really, really like them,” says Anita.

Cameron is happy with the results as well, “She just lights up when you ask her to smile and she looks completely natural.”

Danielle is currently researching clown fish for her masters degree in marine biology. As a result of her studies, she spends a lot of her time underwater, kitted out with scuba-diving gear. Danielle was finding it increasingly difficult to hold the regulator in her mouth and stay underwater for extended periods.

Her research had taken her to Papua New Guinea, and she was terrified of being stuck in PNG’s jungles with her jaw locked open!

Danielle had heard about the work we’ve been doing with neuromuscular dentistry. She thought she’d give us a go before facing the surgeon’s knife. Using a computer system that creates a 3D analysis of the jaw, we measured Danielle’s jaw muscle activity and digitally tracked the movement of her jaw. This enabled us to identify Danielle’s ideal jaw position. We then made an orthotic to temporarily adjust her bite. Danielle noticed an improvement immediately.

Only 10 weeks later, she was totally symptom-free. No headaches. No jaw dislocation. And no medication.

Today, Danielle is happily diving again, completing her masters research. She couldn’t thank us enough for getting her work back on track and putting the smile back on her face.

She had a few gaps between her teeth and some old crowns that were starting to show their age and look a bit lifeless. She was keen to see what her options were for improving her smile. We did a ‘smile assessment’ and prepared a treatment plan for Debbie, showing her how porcelain veneers could improve the colour, shape, size, angulation and orientation of her teeth to give her the smile she’d always dreamed of. She couldn’t book in fast enough.

We showed Debbie through our ‘smile catalogue’ and helped her choose the right style of veneer to suit her face, mouth and existing teeth, as well as appealing to her personal preferences. Debbie chose a very feminine, natural-looking smile.

We then set about getting the colour of the veneers just right to perfectly suit her complexion. Debbie’s new smile was then prepared and completed over two visits. She now has a beautiful and, most importantly, perfectly natural looking smile. Her porcelain veneers are indistinguishable from her own teeth.

Debbie says she can’t stop smiling. She even wrote us a beautiful card to say thank you. “You’ve given me a great smile and changed the way I feel about myself. I cried from the time I left your surgery until I got home,” Debbie’s letter said.

“I feel more confident. I even got a promotion I never thought I’d get. For 25 years, I had a smile I was ashamed of and it took you three hours to correct. Thank you for what you have given me. I can’t stop smiling. You should see the lipsticks I’ve bought!”

You may be surprised to know this condition isn’t uncommon, with research suggesting three to four per cent of babies are born tonguetied. Dentists and oral surgeons regularly perform a procedure to correct the problem, removing the restrictive tissue to enable full movement of the tongue for correct feeding and speech.

However, the procedure typically requires anaesthetic. To make matters worse, Alita was told there was a two-year waiting list to have the procedure performed in hospital.

So she started casting around for a second opinion, wondering if a dental laser could provide a solution. We assured her that, yes, it could. 

“The dental laser has revolutionised surgical and tooth preparation
procedures, making life much easier for the dentist and patient alike,”
says Dr Cameron Arnold. “It’s so gentle, most patients report no discomfort whatsoever without anaesthetic. It’s also very precise, so there’s no risk to surrounding tissue. And healing time is reduced considerably. So it’s ideal for performing such a delicate procedure as correcting a tongue-tie on an infant.”

Cameron was able to fix baby Thomas’ tongue-tie quickly and easily, without anaesthetic. And the treatment site healed quickly. Thomas clearly wasn’t in any pain, either during or after the procedure.

“The first thing he did afterwards was poke his tongue out at me,” says Cameron. “It was great to see because he’d never been able to do that before! Needless to say, his mum Alita was very relieved and grateful for the result.”

I really felt for Errol – he was clearly in a lot of discomfort – and I was confident Neuromuscular Dentistry could help him. I explained what it was all about. He may have thought it sounded strange but I think he was ready to give anything a go.

So we examined Errol’s teeth, bite and jaw. We determined his ideal bite and jaw position, then prepared an orthotic to adjust his bite. We hoped to see a result in two to three months. We would continue to adjust the orthotic every two weeks as Errol’s bite improved.

Errol kept a headache diary to monitor our progress. Before we commenced treatment, he was suffering 30 headaches a month. After a month of treatment, the number of migraines he suffered were reduced by 90 per cent.

There’s no reason anyone needs to put up with dentures, now or in the future. Regular visits to your dentist and dental hygienist, combined with carefully following a customised home-care plan prepared for you by your hygienist, will help you maintain your natural smile for life.

But if you do lose a tooth or part of a tooth, whether through an accident,
deterioration or disease, there are many solutions for filling the gap. Crowns, bridges and dental implants, for instance, are vastly superior to
dentures in appearance, performance and ease of care.

Whatever your age, there are particular aspects of your oral health that
should be closely monitored and managed. Of particular concern for
seniors are dental cavities (especially on the root surfaces), gum disease
(the single leading cause of adult tooth loss), oral disease/oral cancer,
dental stomatitis (irritation of the tissue under a denture), dry mouth, tooth
erosion and tooth sensitivity (resulting from worn enamel or receding
gum tissue).

Whatever your age, I think we can all take a page from Maureen’s book.

“What’s important to me,” Maureen says, “is good nutrition, exercise and
having fun with family and friends. How sad to think ‘I wish I’d looked after
my teeth...’ Prevention is better than cure.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.