Go-To Dentist For Cosmetic Procedures

Leslie Fehl has been a professor in the dental assistant program at Daytona State College since 2011. She’s highly qualified to manage the yearlong certificate program, having worked as a dental assistant for more than 25 years.

“I started working as a dental assistant in 1986 and did that until I began working at the college,” explains Leslie, 54. “The only reason I got out of dental assisting is because I developed carpal tunnel syndrome from the repetitive movements. At that point, I shifted gears and went into teaching.

“Teaching is very rewarding, but I miss the connection with patients. There’s something very satisfying about working with patients. There’s also an enormous amount of satisfaction in seeing students learn and start working in the dental field. It takes a lot of compassion to do that. I like seeing my students grow.”

One of Leslie’s responsibilities as manager of the dental assistant program is to place students within dental practices to receive real-world experience. Park Avenue Dentistry, the practice of Dr. Stephen Lester, in Edgewater, is one of the providers in which she places students.

“Dr. Lester is a good supporter of our program,” she reports. “He knows we provide a sound formal education and our students are very knowledgeable and skilled when they graduate. In fact, two of our graduates are working for Dr. Lester, and I’ll soon be sending another student to do her clinicals with him. We need dentists like Dr. Lester to participate with our program.”

Leslie’s relationship with Dr. Lester goes back more than 20 years. She even worked for him and was his patient many of those years.

Recently, she inquired about another of Dr. Lester’s services: cosmetic laser treatments.

“When you’re in your 50s, you tend to get a little shabby looking,” Leslie observes. “The skin on my face was dull. It had a stressed look that showed the wear of age and the effects of the environment. There were also fine lines on my face, especially around my mouth. I wanted a fresher, more youthful look, and I wanted my lips to be more defined, so I asked about the laser treatment.

“Dr. Lester does continuous education on what’s going on in the dental industry. I know he does his homework, which makes him the go-to guy for cosmetic procedures as well as dentistry.”

Collagen Growth Cycle

As people age, they lose collagen in their face and lips. Collagen is the protein layer under the skin that plumps the skin and maintains the face’s youthful shape. As collagen melts away, the face droops and the bones begin to show. Some individuals also develop jowls and appear gaunt.

The cosmetic laser treatments offered by Park Avenue Dentistry stimulate the tissue of the skin’s deeper layers to grow collagen. As a result, the lines and wrinkles on the face are smoothed and filled out.

“The growth cycle of collagen takes 21 to 28 days, so that’s when we repeat the treatments,” Dr. Lester explains. “In that way, we are retreating the tissue as soon as the collagen growth that resulted from the previous treatment has wound down. We treat every 21 days until patients achieve their goal.”

In treating Leslie, Dr. Lester performed two procedures using the TimeWalker® Fotona4D® aesthetic laser. The first was skin resurfacing.

“During this procedure, we run the laser over the skin of the face, and it removes the top layer of skin cells,” Dr. Lester describes. “The face is often red like a sunburn after resurfacing, which can be covered with makeup. Typically, that redness is gone the next day.

The second procedure was LipLase, an enhancement of the lips.

“Using the laser, we can define the border where the red lip color meets the flesh tone, and we can make that border sharper,” Dr. Lester explains. “The number of LipLase treatments required depends on the effect desired by the patient.”

Another use of the Fotona laser is to make the lips larger. When done by someone who is skilled in the use of lasers, such as Dr. Lester, the results are subtle.

“Most people say to me, I don’t want huge lips because I’ve seen people with huge lips and it looks horrible,” the dentist reveals. “I assure them that I don’t do that. No patient that I’ve treated has ever complained about that and nobody who sees my patients has ever said that their lips are too big. When I do this procedure, the effect is not obvious.”

“Smoother and Fresher”

“I underwent laser treatments on my entire face with the exception of my eyes,” Leslie reports. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t painful at all. All I felt was a mild prickly feeling, and best of all, I noticed a difference after just one treatment.”

Within a few days, Leslie’s skin glowed and appeared refreshed, which is what she hoped to gain.

“Dr. Lester used a laser set to a certain strength to essentially burn off the superficial layer of skin and promote the production of collagen, which we lose as we get older,” Leslie informs. “The first three days my skin was really dry, so I put Vitamin E oil on it. After the fourth day, the dryness dissipated. Now, my skin is smoother and fresher.

“After a couple of weeks, my skin began to stimulate collagen production, which gave me more of a youthful appearance rather than that sagging look.”

Leslie is thrilled with the outcome of her LipLase treatment.

“Dr. Lester used the laser to treat the little color zone of my lips to make it more defined and eliminate those fine lines and wrinkles,” she says. “It made for a more defined lip line, so I’m very happy with my results.

“I didn’t want an outcome where people say, She’s had some work done, and I didn’t. I now look fresher and not dull. It’s a softer, more youthful look. It makes me feel more confident when I look in the mirror.”

High Standards

Leslie had an excellent experience at Park Avenue Dentistry. She credits the practice’s leader for that.

“What appeals to me most about Dr. Lester is that he’s so highly educated, and he continues his education constantly,” Leslie raves. “He speaks to you in layman’s terms so you can understand, but at the same time, you can clearly see that he’s a very intelligent man and extremely knowledgeable.

“Another thing I respect about Dr. Lester is that he’s always on the leading edge of technology. It’s inspiring to know that he’s looking to find the best services for his patients. I believe that when you’re in his care, you’re going to get trustworthy, personalized treatment. That’s very important to me.”

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