Helaine Smith DMD

I’ve been experimenting with my new Flip camera and asking patients to give me testimonials. It’s been a wonderful experience listing to patients talk and learning why they choose to have cosmetic work done.

In this video, my patient Judy explains why she enjoys visiting my Boston dental spa. Thank you, Judy! (You can also view my other videos at my YouTube channel.)

Cosmetic dentistry “before” and “after” photos are nice as they show you the sometimes dramatic improvements a cosmetic dentist can achieve with today’s advanced dental technologies and materials.

However, as I am constantly reminded when patients see their new smiles in the mirror, cosmetic dentistry is more than just giving people “Hollywood smiles.”

Many of my patients have lived their entire lives with missing teeth, stained teeth, and crooked or misshappen teeth. Sometimes these defects are genetic — for whatever reason, adult teeth didn’t come in or they erupted in places in the gum tissue where they shouldn’t have. Other times the patient took medication as a child, which altered their tooth color.

When my patients finally come to see me, they’re often discouraged and afraid. Most of all, they feel “blue.” Having a less than beautiful smile is akin to wearing old clothes — sure, the clothes do their job and cover your body, but you don’t feel confident or attractive.

When they see their new smiles, I’ve had patients exclaim in wonder and even burst into tears. When I see how happy they are, I’m happy to be in the job I’m in — transforming people’s lives with cosmetic dentistry.

So I’m very pleased to present this first in a series of customer testimonial videos. In this video, my patient Edith talks about how she feels after getting her veneers. You can also read her full story as well as view her “before” and “after” photos.

Remember, you’re never too old to have the smile you’ve always dreamed of! (And no, you’re not vain, either.)

First off, the patient was crazy to volunteer for a bony tooth extraction without first being sedated. And second, ALL types of orthopedic surgeries are brutal — that’s why doctors use sedation. Even I, a dentist, would request sedation if I had to have a wisdom tooth extracted.

And finally, from what I could see in this video, the extration proceeded as it should have — it just would have been better if the patient had been sedated.

There is simply too much information on the Internet today and TV. Now you can watch colonoscopies and lasik eye surgeries. Pardon me, but seeing someone’s cornea being cut is gross. I’m a doctor and I didn’t want to think about what they were going to do to me when I had the procedure done.

When you visit the dentist, instead of going in with a treatment plan already in your head due to researching the Internet, let the dentist do his or her job.