Can a smile makeover with dental implants really improve someone’s self esteem? For Terri, a dental implant patient of 1 year, it did.
Her story is not unlike hundreds of other dental implant patient’s stories. Before dental implants, she faced years of expensive dental treatments, insecurities about her smile, and persistent oral pain. Sound familiar?
Read or watch her story below to see how a smile makeover with dental implants transformed her life and get her honest thoughts on the good and the bad parts of dental implants.
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*Actual NUVIA patient(s) who may have been compensated for sharing their story. Not all those who come in for a consultation are eligible for this treatment. Results may vary in individual cases.
The Best Parts of Her Smile Makeover
New teeth can mean a lot of things for different people. For some, it’s getting to eat their favorite foods again. For others, it’s the relief from years of pain due to poor oral health. Here are a few of Terri’s favorite parts of her smile makeover:
Greater Self Esteem
As Terri puts it, “The biggest thing I love about my dental implants is the self esteem it gave back to me”.
Recently back on the dating scene, Terri quickly realized that dating was tough without feeling confident with her smile. “to go back out on the dating scene, it's not fun and when you don't have a nice smile and I know a thousand percent that's important to people”.
Her smile makeover from dental implants gave her back the self esteem she needed to begin dating confidently again. “So I have this incredible guy in my life and is it because of my teeth? Maybe.”
Today, she wonders if it’s because of her teeth that she’s been able to create important relationships in her life.
Predictable Costs
How can cost be something Terri loved about her smile makeover? She points out that “[it’s] gonna sound weird” but after years without price transparency at the dentist, it was refreshing to know what her dental implants would cost.
Not only was Terri able to get answers about insurance and payments from Nuvia’s cost guide, she was reassured knowing that she would never need to go back to a dentist for a root canal, or to pull a tooth, ever again.
Get a copy of the FREE Dental Implant Cost Guide for yourself here.
Permanent Smile in 24 Hours
Something that set Terri’s experience with dental implants from Nuvia apart from implants done with traditional methods is that she was able to get her permanent teeth in 24 hours.
"The reason I chose permanent teeth in twenty-four hours is because it was twenty-four hours," she noted.
The thought of multiple visits and ongoing treatments was daunting, but NUVIA's promise of a one-time procedure was a game-changer.
"I knew that it was gonna be one and done and there was gonna be sure there was gonna be pain but it wasn't going to be me having to go back and feeling more pain and back and feeling more pain," she said.
Things Terri Didn’t Love About Her Dental Implants
Although Terri describes her smile makeover experience as “amazing”, there were some parts of it that she didn’t love as much.
Temporary Soft-Food Diet
For those with missing or failing teeth, food restrictions can be a very frustrating reality. Dental implants restore the ability to eat and chew normally and allow patients to live without these restrictions, enjoying all of their favorite foods.
However, there is a healing period after getting dental implants that Terri shares about. For a few months after the procedure, patients are advised to eat a soft food diet.
"After you get your implants there is a little bit of a food restriction. It's kind of a soft food diet for a few months." While this wasn't ideal, she found ways to enjoy her meals.
"You can still eat mashed potatoes and gravy. You can still eat ice cream, pasta. I mean, you can eat that kind of thing," she said. Despite the temporary inconvenience, she felt it was a small price to pay for the long-term benefits.
Temporary Lisp
Another challenge Terri faced was a temporary lisp following her implant surgery. She shared, "You start out, at least I did, with a lisp. It goes away, it goes away, but it's there for a little while."
Not every patient experiences a temporary lisp, but there are those that do. In the Smile Maker Club, a Facebook group for those thinking about or getting used to their dental implants, patients share plenty of tips, tricks, and exercises to help the lisp go away. Check it out here!
For Terri and others, the lisp was short-lived, and she quickly adapted to her new smile.
Before and After Terri’s Smile Makeover
Smile makeover transformations are truly inspiring! However, like Terri shares from her experience, it isn’t just about the visual transformation. After getting her new teeth, Terri felt greater self-esteem as she was able to confidently share her smile.
