A recent reference letter used the comment, “You can tell a lot about a person by the condition of their teeth.” Though after more than thirty years of working in a prosthodontic practice, I clearly know that to be true, the precise architecture of that sentence startled me. The smile tells a story of personal priorities, of the valuation of a healthy body, of one’s appreciation of art and symmetry affecting function, and of the effort expended to be the best that one can be.
There is no longer any need to hide a smile. In the care of a prosthodontist, even the most twisted and discolored compilation of teeth can be rearranged, restored or replaced. While esthetics plays a significantly important role, function is always really the king. The perfect alignment of one’s bite is so much more than a nice cosmetic achievement. Like anything well engineered, the structure supports everything around it, making the correct occlusion of the upper and lower jaw the natural framework for both cranial support and a youthful, well filled out face.
Perhaps more importantly, the body’s digestive system is critically dependent on our ability to send a properly chewed balanced diet into our food stream. Teeth that have become soft with decay and teeth that do not properly come together will not promote good digestion or the ideal absorption of nutrients. Years of tooth neglect can directly translate to the neglect of the more delicate systems in our bodies. Since we rely on our food supply for energy, healthy teeth play a major role in cultivating energy reserve.
The Pi Dental Center has a mission to maintain and to create smiles with ideal occlusion. Sometimes the state of the art to accomplish that task can require dental implant protocols and may carry a high price tag. In most cases, though, the fruits of correctly rebuilding and restoring the smile will actually be less costly than patch maintenance over a long period of years.
The most exciting news, though, is the advent of AvaDent®, the very futuristic digitally formatted and milled prostheses that promises to be a time efficient and cost effective solution to making America smile. If your heart is in having a strong smile but your hand needs to reach into a conservative pocket, the word on your tongue should be AvaDent®. Ask us or your dentist for details.
By Joanne Balshi
This is such tremendous news! Congratulations to Dr. Balshi and his team for officially going down in history as the professionals who set the standard for prosthodontic dentistry!
I feel honored to know you and blessed to be your patient. The smile you created for me is as beautiful as the day I received it. It’s working right now as I’m brimming with pride for your well-deserved honor! Such wonderful news!