Denture Success Sparks Sibling Revelry

JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Christine (left) and Lisa are both very pleased with the dental care they received at Venetian Dental.

The decision to become a nurse was a natural choice for Lisa Pfannkuchen. She wanted to be a nurse since she was young, and her entire family, except for her sister, works in the medical field. Since 2015, Lisa has served as director of nursing at a Florida state prison.

“I manage 20 nurses,” Lisa shares. “I work with the providers and ensure that patient care is provided for sick call and medical emergencies. I schedule my nurses to be sure we have enough staff to take care of our patients, which come from an 1,800-inmate population.

“Our job is to maintain our patients’ health and well-being, and our hope is to educate them on their health issues so when they reenter society they’re as healthy or healthier than they were when they came to us.

“We offer everything a regular primary provider offers. We have a chronic illness clinic where we treat gastrointestinal, oncologic and heart disorders, diabetes and more. You name it, we treat it.”

While on duty, Lisa insists that her nurses respect the patients’ humanity and not be judgmental.

“I instill that when these individuals aren’t in the clinic, they’re inmates, but when they’re in the clinic, they’re patients,” she expounds. “I want my nurses to treat them like they would any patient in a doctor’s office. Our job is not to persecute or judge them. That’s already been done by the judicial system.”

Several years ago, Lisa, 53, was involved in a serious road accident that left her in need of care from a medical provider.

“In 2018, my sister and I were rear-ended by a semitrailer going 70 mph,” Lisa remembers. “My face slammed into the driver’s side door, which jolted my jaw and knocked it off center. The left side of my jaw was lower than my right, and all the teeth on the right side of my mouth were jarred loose, which was really painful. I didn’t want to eat, and I didn’t smile for a year and a half because I was embarrassed of my teeth. It affected my overall appearance.”

At first, Lisa did nothing about her teeth. Then one day, she bit on something hard, and a tooth on the upper right side of her mouth broke.

“That happened on a Monday or Tuesday,” she details. “By that Friday night, the tooth started to really hurt, but I couldn’t get into a dentist. I found Venetian Dental by accident while looking for an emergency dentist. They saw me on a Saturday.”

Venetian Dental is the practice of Alexander Gaukhman, DMD, a general, cosmetic and emergency dentist who has offices in Venice and Osprey.

“During the emergency visit, the dentist pulled the broken tooth,” Lisa recounts. “When I went for my follow-up, he told me that eventually I was going to lose all my teeth, and sure enough, the next week I lost the entire top row. A week later I lost the entire bottom row. They told me I was a candidate for dental implants and snap-on dentures, and I liked the thought of that.”

Replacement Teeth

Dental implants are root-shaped, screw-like bodies that are surgically placed into the jawbone, where new bone naturally grows around them to form the foundation for an abutment and replacement teeth.

Dr. Gaukhamn explains that replacement teeth can be a crown that is cemented or screwed onto the abutment, a partial bridge that can be affixed to one or more implants, or a full denture that can be fastened to a series of implants.

“Generally, upper dentures fit securely in the mouth without dental implants because the palate creates sufficient suction to hold the appliances in place,” Dr. Gaukhman observes. “There are instances, however, when dental implants are recommended, in part because traditional upper dentures typically lead to a decrease in taste.

“The tongue is mainly responsible for discerning taste, but the palate also plays a role. Because traditional dentures cover the palate, patients can be deprived of sensing the full complement of tastes. Upper implant dentures are horseshoe shaped and leave the palate uncovered, so that sense of taste is not diminished.”

Gag reflex is another issue that can occur when traditional upper dentures cover the palate. That, too, is not an issue with dentures supported by implants.

“Implant-secured upper dentures offer better stability because the denture is anchored directly to the jawbone,” the doctor asserts. “Implant dentures also prevent bone atrophy and do not rub against the gums. And they’re more convenient because they do not require messy adhesives to hold them in place.”

Unlike upper dentures, lower dentures almost always require dental implants to remain secure.

“There’s no palate in the lower jaw due to the location of the tongue, so less suction is produced,” Dr. Gaukhman explains. “Consequently, lower dentures tend to slip and slide if not supported by implants.

“It’s rare that someone can wear a lower denture that doesn’t bother them or stay tight without help. Securing a lower denture with dental implants is the most effective way to stabilize it.”

In addition to staying in place when patients speak and eat, dentures secured by implants provide added strength for biting and chewing, according to Dr. Gaukhman, who notes some other advantages of implant-secured dentures.

“Because the dentures are stable, patients experience better speech, better aesthetics and greater self-confidence,” he maintains. “And they don’t have to worry about the denture coming out during dinner, conversation or activity. Also, while teeth decay, implants never decay.”

Dentures in a Day

In most cases, Dr. Gaukhman offers Dentures in a Day, Venetian Dental’s single-visit smile-restoration technique. This process allows for the placement of implants on the same day the teeth are extracted. Typically, temporary dentures are created that day in an on-site laboratory.

“We begin by taking impres-sions of the teeth,” Dr. Gaukhman says. “It takes a few hours for the lab to fabricate the dentures, but once they’re ready, we extract the teeth, seat the implants and place the temporary denture right away. This way, the denture acts as a bandage to minimize swelling and bleeding. Moreover, patients don’t walk around without teeth.

“The patient wears the temporary denture for three to six months following the implant procedure. The time allows the implants to integrate with the jawbone and for the tissues to heal. The temporary denture is then replaced with a permanent appliance that attaches to the implants. Once the permanent dentures are placed, we make any necessary adjustments to ensure a perfect fit.”

Picture Perfect

Dr. Gaukhman seated Lisa’s implants last September. By March, she had her final dentures, which snapped onto the implants in her upper and lower jaw.

Lisa is extremely pleased with the outcome, which allows her to smile with confidence again.

“They designed my dentures based on a picture of my original teeth, so they don’t look like typical dentures, in which the teeth are all pearly white and stuck together with very little space in between,” Lisa shares. “Mine actually look just like my teeth did before the accident. They matched the color, the spacing, everything, so they look natural.
-Lisa

“When I snapped in the dentures for the first time to go home, I cried because I was able to smile. I never thought I’d see my smile again. They brought me from a dark, depressing place with regard to my appearance to where I was laughing and smiling without being embarrassed.”

Lisa also appreciates that Dr. Gaukhman and his staff were not judgmental of her dental situation.

“Not once did they make me feel ashamed about how my teeth were,” she says. “They’re not like some dentists who essentially tell you, Your problem developed because you didn’t take care of your teeth. I had no trouble with my teeth before the accident. I had all my teeth and still had the original fillings from when I was 9 years old.

“The whole staff at Venetian Dental made me feel welcomed when I walked through the door, and they remembered my name. You’re not just a number or a dollar sign to them; you’re a person. Whether it’s Dr. Gaukhman, the ladies in the office or the hygienists, they all make you feel like you’re part of their family.

“When my sister inquired about my dentist, I told her, Of all the dental practices I have been to, this is hands down the one you want to go to. That’s how my sister became a patient at Venetian Dental.”

Word of Mouth

Lisa’s sister, Christine England, works at the same prison as Lisa but in an administrative capacity. She held several jobs within the prison before reaching her current management position.

“I started working in the prison library 22 years ago,” Christine recounts. “I was a correctional officer for a short period, and then I moved into the grievance coordinator’s position for nine years. When that position was discontinued, I went into classification. That’s where I am today; I’m a classification supervisor.

“My department handles everything related to the inmates, from obtaining intake information to making sure the sentencing paperwork is correct. We make sure the inmates are assigned to the appropriate jobs based on their custody level. We look at their criminal histories and decide if we need to move them to a higher level of security.

“We also talk to the inmates’ families because when a person is doing time, their family is doing time, too, because they’re worried about their loved one.

“We also make sure the inmates have access to legal counsel and set up legal calls. We arrange transfers to our incentivized prison as a reward for good behavior. There, the inmates get extra perks.”

Christine fell into corrections work by chance. Twenty-two years ago, she was pregnant and receiving unemployment benefits when she was called for a job interview at the prison.

“To continue receiving unemployment, you have to show that you’re looking for work, so I went for the interview,” Christine notes. “When I arrived, I saw prisoners walking around outside in the parking lot, which freaked me out. I called my mother, and she told me to leave.

“I stayed for the interview, but I wasn’t the nicest person because I didn’t really want the job. A week later, I got a call from someone telling me that I got the job. At first, I tried to get out of it, but I ended up going to work there. My first couple of days were scary. Then I got the job in the library and thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Although Christine, 55, was injured in the crash with her sister, her dental issues started years before.

“In 1985, I was in a very bad accident,” Christine remembers. “I T-boned a Chrysler with my tiny compact car. I pretty much ate the steering wheel and lost two teeth – my front tooth and the one next to it. It also knocked loose every other tooth in my mouth.

“My dentist couldn’t replant the teeth because we couldn’t find them. For all I know I may have swallowed them. For a long time, I didn’t have teeth in the front, so I wouldn’t smile. I just kept my mouth shut with very tight lips.”

Christine was eventually fit with a bridge to replace her missing teeth, which boosted her self-confidence considerably. Then, during the 2018 crash with Lisa, her teeth were jarred loose again. The dentist she was seeing warned her that because her remaining teeth were loose, she’d likely have problems with them in the future, which she did.

“I started having trouble with the teeth under the bridge,” Christine relates. “At first, I refused to let them take out the bridge because with it I had pretty teeth. But I finally had to accept that I needed dentures. When I got them I cried because I felt like a young person with old people teeth.”

Hoping to get better-looking and better-fitting dentures, Christine visited a large dentistry chain. It hyped up its services and promised to improve Christine’s experience with dentures. Then she heard the price tag.

“They said it would cost $55,000, which crushed me,” Christine laments. “I couldn’t afford to pay $55,000 for teeth, so I gave up on it. Then my sister, Lisa, broke a tooth. We called everywhere trying to find an emergency dentist who would see her on a Saturday and found Venetian Dental.

“Lisa ended up having all of her teeth pulled and getting dentures. Dr. Gaukhman told her about dental implants and gave her the price, which was reasonable, so I got on board with it as well. I made an appointment for a consult and a week later I was having my remaining teeth pulled.”

“Amazingly Easy”

Today, Christine has upper and lower implant-secured dentures. She’s impressed by Venetian Dental’s effortless smile restoration process.

“It went a whole lot smoother than I expected,” she reveals. “I was nervous at first, but it was amazingly easy. I had zero pain the entire time, not even a phantom toothache pain.

Dr. Gaukhman started the process in October, and I received my final snap-on dentures the day before my birthday on March 1, which was a Friday.

“On Saturday morning, I went to my granddaughter’s softball game. Afterward, my family took me out to lunch. I ate corn on the cob for the first time in I don’t know how long that day, and I almost started crying in the restaurant because I could chew food with no problem. I had a big steak that day, the corn and a salad, and it was amazing.”

Christine is also impressed by the appearance of her new dentures.

“The dentures look fantastic,” she enthuses. “I asked the dentist to put spaces between the teeth like my natural teeth have, so they don’t look like dentures. Instead, they look like regular teeth, absolutely natural. And I’m smiling more than I have in a long time. I’m pretty happy with my outcome.”

Christine is also happy with the dental providers who restored her smile.

“When I met Dr. Gaukhman, he was very nice. He told me I was a good candidate for implants to secure the dentures,” she recalls. “After Dr. Gaukhman did the extractions and placed the implants, I spent a lot of time with Sergei (Chemomorets), who actually makes the dentures. They’re both good at their jobs.

“I’ve been recommending Venetian Dental all over the place. I took a bunch of their logo pens and hand them out wherever I go.”

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