So many of our patients come to us in despair over broken, discolored, misshapen, or missing teeth! They have avoided smiling, or even talking much, for years, hoping to avoid calling attention to what should be a natural expression of their personality and ideas. But they are not alone:
In his newest blockbuster, Washington: A Life, best-selling author Ron Chernow reveals that the Father of Our Country suffered from ill-fitting dentures as a celebrated Revolutionary War general, and as the first President of the United States from 1789-1797. In fact, when he was sworn into office, he had only one original tooth left; “a lonely lower left bicuspid.” He also spent decades in discomfort from a series of ill-fitting and painful dentures, the only ones available at the time. No wonder he looks so grim in his portraits!
For at least one set, Washington’s dentist, Dr. John Greenwood, used a cow’s tooth, one of Washington’s teet
h, hippopotamus ivory, metal and springs. One look and you can imagine how difficult it must have been for him to express the affairs of state, let alone his appreciation of a good joke
Fortunately, our patients have much better options than George Washington did. Using today’s sophisticated imaging and fabricating technologies, we are able to create everything from a single, comfortable implant, to a full set of dentures or full-mouth restoration with the pain-free procedures and natural-looking results that have changed the lives of so many of them for the better.
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