One of our patients, Ewa, was off at college in New Jersey where she was studying to become a Physician Assistant. She had been coming to us for years. Her front teeth had always been a little short but she had been OK with them.
One night, she tripped and fell on the sidewalk and hit her front teeth. After visiting an emergency clinic in New Jersey, she rushed home to see us and this is what we saw:
In addition to facial bruising (not shown), she broke three front teeth, as can be seen in the photo.
She had significant facial bruising present and required stitches. But she was most concerned with her front teeth. In addition to breaking off large portions of them, two of them had moved significantly.
Our first goal was to ensure she did not lose any of the three teeth. Immediate treatment included two root canals, bonding, and then placement of a splint to stabilize the teeth. She left our office looking like this:
Approximately 4 hours later, she left like this. Not perfect. But a lot better than when she came in. Dentistry and photos by Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.
We let her stabilize for 6 weeks and then removed the splint. We performed extensive testing and x-rays. She was not having any symptoms at this time. Our efforts paid off: she was going to keep her teeth!
We then agreed on a treatment plan which included 2 all ceramic crowns and 2 porcelain veneers.
Let’s look at the results:
Ewa is all smiles now! She is back to smiling. Dentistry and Photos Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.
Here is the final before and after collage:
The final before and after shot of Ewa. We were able to lengthen her front teeth slightly as part of her reconstruction. Photos and dentistry Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.
As we wrote, not all cosmetic dentistry is planned. We were able to take her accident and give her a great smile. And she kept her teeth too!
