Digital imagery and 3D printing facilitate in-office restoration.
Geralyn Moulton
A wedding is among the most important moments of a couple’s lives. Geralyn Moulton served as a wedding coordinator for an event planning and catering company for 25 years. During her career, she helped numerous couples organize and celebrate their special day.
“I met with the brides and mothers and then put everything together,” Geralyn describes. “My company offered full-service event planning. We made the food, hired the entertainment, arranged for the limousine. We did everything except match the gowns and tuxes. I was always present during the event to help the bride and family with anything they needed.”
The Tennessee native, who relocated to Florida in 1979, immensely enjoyed her work with the Daytona Beach company.
“I loved the feeling when the wedding was over and everybody was happy,” Geralyn admits. “I loved knowing I helped make someone’s wedding day very special and that they’ll remember that day for the rest of their lives. It was very exciting.”
Geralyn, 65, retired as a wedding coordinator in 1999. She worked for a few years alongside her husband, who sold vacations and hotel timeshares. In 2006, she retired again, mainly so she could stay home and care for her grandchildren. Geralyn loves that job as well, but at the same time hated her failing teeth and anemic smile.
“My teeth had been deteriorating for years,” she shares. “I was also in a car wreck, and the impact of the airbag caused my front four teeth to turn sideways. There were big gaps where they were turning and crossing over.
“I’ve got a movie star smile now thanks to Dr. Aljonaidy.” – Geralyn
“I was embarrassed of my teeth. When I smiled, I tried to keep my lips over my teeth. I didn’t smile often because I didn’t want people to see my teeth. I didn’t even like looking in the mirror. I was depressed because of my teeth.”
Her situation worsened last fall.
“I was eating dinner one night and a cap fell out of my mouth with the tooth still in it,” Geralyn recounts. “There was significant pain where that tooth came out, and that was the only chewing side I had left. I lost several teeth on the other side a long time ago.”
Geralyn went immediately to a local dental office. She was exasperated by the experience because for a week the staff told her nothing could be done. She was in pain and couldn’t eat, so she left that office upset and crying. Seeing her in distress, her husband went looking for a dental practice that could help.
“The next thing I knew my husband calls and says, Get to Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics right now. They’ll see you right away,” Geralyn remembers. “I went right over there, and I’ve never had a more wonderful experience.”
Position and Shape
Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics is the Ormond Beach practice of Huda Aljonaidy, DDS. Upon examination, Dr. Aljonaidy discovered that Geralyn’s broken tooth and intense pain were associated with an infection. The dentist treated the infection and Geralyn’s pain subsided.
“Because we eliminated Geralyn’s pain, trust was built,” Dr. Aljonaidy relates. “At that point, I asked her, How do you feel about a full exam? She agreed to proceed, and that started an in-depth assessment of her mouth and facial aesthetics.
“During the assessment, we discussed issues such as her occlusion (the way teeth touch when the mouth is closed), cavities and gum disease. She wanted all those issues handled, which we did. Then, we discussed her smile, including her teeth position and shape. I told her, Every tooth in your mouth needs to be crowned to restore your smile.”
Geralyn gave Dr. Aljonaidy the freedom to alter the shape of her teeth slightly to improve the appearance of her smile. The dentist relied on advanced digital technology and 3D printing to design and fabricate Geralyn’s crowns to exact specifications.
“While Geralyn sat in the dental chair, we took pictures of her teeth, analyzed her facial profile and lip thickness, and entered those ratios into our computer system,” Dr. Aljonaidy explains. “We chose the teeth shape from our digital library of human teeth and customized the design with our CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing) software.
“The software is connected to our 3D printer, which creates temporary crowns. Their shape was chosen from examples of attractive teeth in nature, including celebrity teeth. The teeth were then printed and placed in Geralyn’s mouth. They are not simulations. They’re real teeth that she wore home and used. They serve as the backbone for the final restorations.”
After Geralyn’s mouth was healed from the preparatory dental work, Dr. Aljonaidy created a second set of 3D teeth to verify the bite, fit and appearance.
When everything was finalized, the dentist milled the permanent crowns out of a block of porcelain. That step was also completed in Dr. Aljonaidy’s office using her CAD/CAM equipment.
“With Geralyn, I restored one arch at a time starting with her lower arch,” the dentist explains. “Once the swelling was gone, I removed the 3D temporaries and fit the permanent teeth to sit perfectly on the gumline. Her top arch required more than one visit because she had more teeth on top, so I completed it in two phases. Now, her smile fits her charismatic personality.”
A Lifesaver
In addition to crowning all of Geralyn’s teeth, Dr. Aljonaidy finished off the smile restoration with injections of hyaluronic acid fillers in her lips and cheeks. The dentist also injected BOTOX® Cosmetic into Geralyn’s face to eliminate the lines created when she smiles. Geralyn is thrilled with her rejuvenated appearance.
“When I first met Dr. Aljonaidy, she asked me what my goal was, and I told her it was to smile again,” Geralyn recalls. “Ever since she restored my teeth, I’ve done nothing but smile. People who know me are amazed by how much I’m smiling now. And now that I’m smiling, I’m a lot happier than when I was self-conscious and trying to hide my teeth.
“I’ve got a movie star smile now thanks to Dr. Aljonaidy. My teeth are beautiful. I’m loving them. She did a beautiful job. And she’s got amazing, state-of-the-art equipment. I’ve never been to a dentist that can scan your mouth and immediately know what’s going on with your teeth.”
Geralyn has more praise for the dentist who restored her smile.
Geralyn Before and After
“Dr. Aljonaidy is a lifesaver,” she raves. “She got me into the office right away. She capped every tooth in my mouth and got me back to where I could eat. I can eat anything with the teeth she gave me, including corn on the cob and ribs on the bone. She’s given me my life back.
“She’s absolutely wonderful and efficient. She never stops and is on top of new technology. She’s also very personal and jokes around with me. It’s like I’m visiting one of my best friends every time I go into her office. I look forward to my dental appointments now. Dr. Aljonaidy changed my entire life.”
