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Home » Smile Gallery » Rebecca’s Smile Story
Introducing The Young Dubliners! Born out of a Santa Monica Irish pub in the late ’80s, the Young Dubs have spent over three decades fusing Celtic folk with raucous, high-energy rock — and at the heart of it all is the man who’s been there from the start. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, raised by entertainers, and armed with a powerhouse voice fronting a maelstrom of fiddles, howling guitars, and frenzied drums — give it up for the one and only Keith Roberts!
Rebecca presented with constricted upper and lower dental arches, and a complex history involving dental implants. The existing implant crowns could not simply be removed — X-rays revealed they were integrated too deeply, and removal posed a significant risk of severe bony defects.
Treatment plan: One year of Invisalign to expand and round the arches, followed by removal of the implant crowns, soft tissue grafting, and final porcelain restorations.
Before any restorative work could begin, the teeth needed to be moved into more favorable positions. A one-year Invisalign treatment was prescribed to expand the constricted arches and create the space needed for the final restorations.
While the Invisalign aligners were being fabricated, Rebecca wore a temporary Snap on Smile appliance so she could go through her daily life with confidence.
Incremental tray changes gradually expanded the dental arches. By the four-month mark, meaningful progress was visible, and the upper and lower arch forms were nearly fully expanded by the end of treatment.
With the arches now in their ideal positions, the next step was to address the visible titanium implant metal beneath the gumline — requiring a connective tissue graft to thicken and mask the tissue overlaying the implants.
The implant crowns were carefully removed. Despite the complexity, healing progressed rapidly. Just two days after removal, significant tissue recovery was already visible. However, the titanium metal of the implant fixtures remained visible through the gingival tissue — a challenge to be addressed with grafting.
Donor connective tissue was harvested from Rebecca’s palate and threaded into a tunnel created beneath the existing gingival tissue in the implant area. The graft was secured on each end with sutures, providing additional tissue bulk to mask the underlying titanium.
With the arches expanded, tissue grafted, and healing complete, the final restorations were designed: two conventional porcelain bridges spanning the implant sites, plus two premolar porcelain veneers bilaterally to fill the full smile frame.
Before cementing permanently, Rebecca wore acrylic temporaries for a “test drive” of her new smile — allowing her to experience the result and confirm her happiness before final placement.
There is a slim possibility that your nerve can be injured during root canal surgery on your lower molars. The root tips on these back teeth may be close to a nerve that supplies feeling to your lips, gums, and chin. On rare occasions, the nerve can become irritated during your procedure. If this happens, you may experience tingling or, though rare, a complete loss of feeling in your lips, chin, and gums after the local anesthesia wears off. This is almost always temporary and should soon go away on its own.
Your upper tooth roots are positioned near your sinuses, so root canal treatment can sometimes create a communication (a channel or opening) between your mouth and sinuses. This condition should heal itself. Our team will give you specific instructions to follow if we see that you have this condition. If you believe you may have a complication after your treatment, please call our office.
Infections sometimes occur after surgery. They usually require a quick office visit and taking antibiotics for a week or so.
The result was far more than cosmetic. A transformed smile rebuilt Rebecca’s confidence and changed how she moved through the world. Her family was so moved by Dr. Monica’s work that they sent flowers — and then extended an invitation to the wedding.
— Rebecca
© 2002 Dr. Monica Crooks, DDS. All Rights Reserved.
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