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JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
Paul now spends more time smiling.
Staying one step ahead of the rapid changes in computer technology is no easy task, but software engineer Paul Van Cott’s ability to do that earned him a place at the forefront of one of the industry’s greatest revolutions.
“I started my career in 1979 as a programmer for the big mainframe computers,” Paul shares. “Then in the ’90s, I saw how the technology was advancing, so I trained myself to design and write programs for webpages. That was during the evolution of internet-based programming, and I stayed on top of the technology as it evolved.”
For 20 years, the New Jersey native continued to write software programs for the internet. Now 68 years old and semi-retired, he’s concluding his career as a database engineer for the federal government.
“For the past seven years, I’ve been doing government contract work,” Paul says. “I work mainly with biometric facial recognition, which we use to help identify people crossing our borders.”
In June 2022, Paul was given permission to work remotely, so he relocated from Virginia to Florida as a prelude to full retirement. Knowing that he would lose his dental benefits upon retirement, Paul decided to have his smile upgraded before those benefits expired.
“I’ve always had dental problems and never had a smile I was proud of,” he reveals. “I wore a full denture on top and a partial denture on the bottom. I felt I needed a smile tune-up. On the recommendation of my family, I visited Dr. Aljonaidy.”
Huda Aljonaidy, DDS, is the founder of Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics in Ormond Beach, where she performs all aspects of comprehensive dentistry. During her initial examination of Paul, Dr. Aljonaidy determined that he needed more than just a smile tune-up.
“When Mr. Van Cott came to us, he was missing all of his upper teeth and was wearing a removable upper denture,” the doctor explains. “He did have some of his lower teeth, but they were not restorable and needed to be extracted.
“I recommended replacing his missing teeth with a hybrid prosthesis, which is a denture affixed to dental implants. He understood that dental implants are the best replacement for human dentition because removable prostheses are not as efficient.
“Further, the teeth in the hybrid prostheses are made from a very aesthetic material, so we would achieve Mr. Van Cott’s desire for superior function and appearance.”
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.
The 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 denture that can be fastened to a series of implants.
Challenge Accepted
One challenge Dr. Aljonaidy faces is that the implant must mimic a tooth root. As such, the placement must be very precise. At Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics, the task of placing implants is performed with the help of robotic technology.
The robot consists of two arms. One attaches to the patient to verify the exact location of the mouth. The other is operated by the implant surgeon after the parameters for the surgery are entered into a computer.
“Using the robot, I can perform the implant surgery without opening the patient’s gums, which accelerates healing,” Dr. Aljonaidy discloses. “I simply go into the patient’s mouth, and the robot guides me to the precise location where the implants need to be placed. I do not have to worry about invading the sinuses or damaging nerves.”
With Paul, the robot’s assistance allowed Dr. Aljonaidy to avoid two procedures that she otherwise might have had to perform in advance of seating the implants. One is bone grafting, which creates additional bone volume and density in the jaw. The other is a sinus lift, or sinus floor augmentation.
Tooth loss below a sinus leads to bone loss, and over time the cavity expands into the area previously occupied by bone and teeth. When the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place implants in this bone. During a sinus lift, the dentist drills through the upper jawbone and lifts the sinus membrane to create space for the grafting material and implant.
“Even though his bone was minimal, the robot allowed me to precisely place the implants in the corners of his jaw, where the bone was strongest,” Dr. Aljonaidy reports. “That saved us many months of healing.”
“When Dr. Aljonaidy first told me about using a robot to place the implants, I didn’t know what to think,” Paul notes. “I had visions of a Star Wars-type robot working in my mouth. Dr. Aljonaidy saw my eyes get big and immediately said, Don’t worry. The robot is always in my hand; I have complete control. That made me feel better.”
Replacement Teeth
Dr. Aljonaidy placed 12 implants in Paul’s jaw – six on top and six on the bottom to evenly distribute the bite force. She performed the implant surgery in two sessions so Paul didn’t get fatigued sitting in the dental chair all day.
“When he came back the second day, there was no gum swelling or soreness in his gums, which amazed him,” the dentist reports. “Then, when I told him I was sending him home with teeth, his mind was blown. He didn’t expect that.”
For Paul’s upper arch, Dr. Aljonaidy fabricated a temporary denture that screwed onto the implants. For his lower arch, she used a few teeth that would later be extracted as the anchors for a temporary prosthetic that allowed the implants to heal uninterrupted.
“I did not load all of the lower implants because I was not happy with the shape of the soft tissue and gums after extracting most of his lower teeth,” Dr. Aljonaidy says. “But at the end of the day, he had both upper and lower teeth that functioned nicely.”
According to Dr. Aljonaidy, Paul will soon be ready for the next phase of his lower arch restoration. That phase will include the extraction of the remaining teeth and placement of the rest of the implants.
“I prefer that the implants heal for six months before I load the final prosthesis,” Dr. Aljonaidy notes. “Six months is the standard healing time for the bone to become solid around the implants.
“The difference between Mr. Van Cott’s temporaries and his final prostheses is the material. The finals will be made from zirconia, which is beautiful, very biocompatible and strong, and has great longevity. The temporaries look great and allow him to eat, but they are not designed to last for more than a year.”
“Amazing” Process
JORDAN PYSZ / iFoundMyDoctor.com
With a song in his heart and a new smile on his face, Paul spends much of his time away from his computer work playing the guitar. He is very impressed with Dr. Aljonaidy’s work.
To give Paul the best aesthetics, Dr. Aljonaidy recommended making his final teeth a little larger than his natural teeth and the teeth in his removable denture.
“He really loved that I recommended changing the size and shape of his teeth,” the dentist recounts. “Now, when he smiles, he looks more masculine. It also takes years off the appearance of his face.”
Paul is delighted with the temporary teeth he received from Dr. Aljonaidy. He’s looking forward to his final upper prosthesis, which will be horseshoe shaped and won’t overlay the roof of his mouth as traditional upper dentures do.
“For the purposes of strength, my old upper denture covered my entire palate, which caused me to lose some of my sense of taste,” Paul asserts. “With the implant approach, the palate is exposed, so I’ll recapture my sense of taste.”
The appearance of Paul’s teeth is impressive.
“Even though they’re temporaries, all of a sudden I have a nice smile,” Paul enthuses. “My teeth are beautiful, so I smile a lot more now.
“What’s amazing about Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics’ restoration process is that there are no outside laboratories involved. Dr. Aljonaidy has her own lab, so on the day of my surgery, she 3D-printed the set of teeth I currently have in my mouth.”
Paul, who plays the guitar in his free time, has many reasons to serenade his dentist. “Dr. Aljoniady is a phenomenal oral surgeon,” he shares. “She’s extremely bright and in touch with her patients. She focuses an awful lot on her patients’ happiness and comfort.
“She has a great sense of humor and a great chairside manner. I’ve been to a lot of dentists during my lifetime, and I’ve never seen one quite as good as Dr. Aljonaidy. She’s an amazing talent with amazing skills.
“And her practice is incredible. Her staff is just super. I’ve dealt with them all in one way or another, and they’re all wonderful.”
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Peculiar article, totally what I wanted to find.