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Gaila Catron and her twin, Kay were professional gospel singers but neither felt she had a smile to sing about.
“For many years I was on a lot of TV shows with my sister,” says Catron, “During those years I had to smile into the camera with yucky looking teeth.”
Catron was dissatisfied with her teeth because she had large fillings in her front teeth that were different shades from the rest of the tooth enamel. Those fillings were necessary due to what she calls dental dereliction of duty.
“We’re 60 and when we were children there wasn’t chlorine in the water,” says Catron. “Plus Kay and I didn’t take brushing our teeth as seriously as we should have and ate a lot of candy.”
“I just wanted to have pretty teeth,” says Catron, “My sister was able to have hers done many years ago and I wasn’t.”
The dentist who repaired and beautified Catron’s sister’s teeth was located in Ohio. Catron thought that he was the only dentist who could restore her smile. Then she saw Dr. Paul Henny’s commercial on TV and it piqued her interest.
“Something in me said to go see him and let him evaluate me,” says Catron, which she did with sister Kay in tow as a model for what she hoped to look like.
Henny listened to Catron’s concerns, examined her teeth and laid out a plan that included Invisalign braces, at-home tooth whitening, crowns on 12 of her top teeth and gum surgery by Dr. Linda Till.
Dr. Enrique Silberblatt (Catron’s plastic surgeon), Henny, and Catron agreed to work with The Roanoker during the makeover series and we were off and running.
Catron began her tooth restoration journey by wearing the Invisalign braces. This system of clear “aligners” straightens teeth without the need for the traditional wire and bracket braces. Henny considered this a crucial step.
“It allowed us to put the teeth in a more ideal position so when we restored them they’d look more natural and be more healthy over time,” says Henny.
The Invisalign braces were unobtrusive and hardly affected Catron’s daily routine.
“I wore upper and lower Invisalign braces and it only took a few months to straighten my teeth,” says Catron. “They were not uncomfortable and didn’t bother me.”
While her teeth were being subtly straightened, Catron also used the at-home whitening trays Henny provided. Her teeth were not only discolored from the fillings of slightly different colors. Past use of antibiotics had led to a grayish tone to her teeth. That type of discoloration responds better to the at-home trays.
“Our intention was to boost the lower teeth color up to an acceptable level to Gaila so we could use that color as a reference point in the new upper restorations,” says Henny.
The initial steps were completed and Henny was ready to prep and place the six front temporary crowns.
While the appointment lasted for more than four hours, not all of the time was spent working in Catron’s mouth. A chunk of the time was spent on the careful crafting of the temporary crowns.
“It takes me almost an hour and a half to make the temporary crowns which are all made by hand,” says Henny.
The hours flew by for Catron who was numbed by local anesthetic and distracted by the movie, Anna and the King. She watched the movie through virtual reality goggles that Henny provides for patients during long procedures.
“It made the time go by very quickly,” says Catron. “Never before had I thought to myself I hoped a dentist wasn’t done too quickly.”
By the end of the appointment the change to Catron’s smile was impressive. Her top six teeth had been transformed. The discolorations, and other flaws were gone. In their place was a row of six perfect teeth.
Catron’s new look impressed everyone who knew her.
“My family, friends and loved ones all noticed and commented very positively,” says Catron. “They were so happy for me.”
Catron will still have six more teeth crowned, gum surgery and the final porcelain crowns fashioned in Henny’s office by his in-house ceramist, Ryan Pennington. These crucial steps and the final results will appear in a future issue of The Roanoker.
Even though only at the halfway point in her treatment, Catron is thrilled with the positive change to her teeth.
“I have had many people comment that they do not look like temporary crowns and that they looked like real teeth,” says Catron. “They look like my teeth only much, much better.”
Contact: Dr. Paul Henny, 774-1577
Cost thus far: $5,700