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As a former army captain and nurse, Sam Scott is not known for her lack of confidence. As she says: “You wouldn’t cope with the army lads taking the rise out you if you were worried about what other people thought”
But, while she was always able to present a smile to the world, when she saw herself in pictures that she felt ‘almost shocked’ at how her teeth appeared.
It was when she was about 16 that she started to have problems. As her wisdom teeth came through, her front two top teeth were pushed together and this resulted was them being slowly edged forwards until they protruded from her mouth.
Sam said: “if you’d asked me if my teeth bothered me I would have shrugged it off and said ‘not really’ there was a part of me that was upset by how they looked.
“This was particularly apparent when I saw pictures of myself because, while the protrudence wasn’t obvious from the front, you could really see it from the profile.
“Because of this I hated looking at pictures of myself and would ignore any that were taken. As I got older it did start to play on my mind a bit more – but, again, I just didn’t think there was anything I could do about it.”
When Sam started work at the hospital, she realised there were corrective procedures that could help her and heard about a practice around the corner from her work in central Bristol that was owned and run by a dentist who had extensive experience in cosmetic procedures.
She made an appointment with Dr Neil Gerrard at the Clifton Dental Practice and says she was immediately convinced she would have the work done.
Sam said: “I had never thought that anything like cosmetic surgery would be something I would have because I had a preconceived notion it was either for desperate people or the very wealthy.
“But the more I looked into it, the more I realised I could afford it and that it wasn’t going to be a tremendous amount of hassle. When I went to see Neil for the consultation, he put me at ease and showed me pictures of people before and after who had veneers – I couldn’t believe the difference.
“He made it sound straight forward and easy – I’m sure because he wanted to put my mind at rest – but, I have to say, it was a six-month commitment that included quite a lot of discomfort and pain and, although worth it, was pretty wearing by the end.”
The first stage started with Neil taking photographs “from every conceivable angle” and fastidiously recording references and details of her mouth. She then had to have a mould of her whole mouth taken.
She said: “It was like having a massive piece of bubble gum in your mouth that feels like it’s going to go down your throat and makes you gag. In every other way it wasn’t horrible because it did taste and smell like bubblegum, but it wasn’t particularly pleasant having it done.”
Neil then went through what brightness Sam wanted and then started the teeth whitening. Sam and Neil discussed the ranges – from ordinary white to ‘Hollywood’ white. She opted for a mid-tone normal white.
This process involved her having a bleach and laser light on her teeth for about 40 minutes and she said, although not painful, there was a strange twinging, like a hot needle being intermittently stuck in her teeth, for about 10 seconds at a time.
She then had to take a de-oxidising agent home to use daily by putting it in and wearing a specially-made plastic mould of her teeth that had been fitted before the whitening was done.
Once the whitening had taken effect – and the pains had died down – she returned to see Neil to have her teeth filed and her temporary veneers put in place. Although she had hoped to have only the front two replaced, after Neil had studied her mouth, he said she would need the front four done to make sure her bite was at its optimum accuracy.
Sam said: “I didn’t feel a thing at the time, but you have to lie for three hours with your mouth forced open and the actual filing process is not nice.
“I needed to go to the loo half way through it and that was really unfortunate because I saw myself in the mirror with my front teeth basically reduced to thin little stumps, which I don’t recommend. I’m made of stern stuff but it did upset me quite a bit.”
However, once he showed Sam the mirror with the temporary veneers in place she said it was like all her Christmases had come at once.
She said: “I just couldn’t believe how different it looked. I was actually shocked at the change and felt like I’d had the best-ever makeover. Apart from the way they feel – they’re quite rubbery – they looked just like normal teeth and after the ordeal in the chair, you’re quite tempted not to go back for the real thing because they look so great.”
Although the pain at the time was non-existent, when she got home that evening, her head pounded and where she had had laser treatment on her gums, was throbbing. She took some anti-inflammatories and went to bed. “All I wanted to do was sleep it off and wake up feeling better – and that’s what happened,” she said.
About six weeks later, she had to return to have the newly-made porcelain veneers put in place.
She said: “I think it’s human nature to not want to go through the hard bit, but you have to if you want the end result to be perfect. All the way through Neil was brilliant and kept me going. He’d call and ask if I was feeling ok after a treatment and always be on hand if I was worried.
“On the day of the veneers it was another three-hour appointment and when I got in the chair I could see my new teeth on the table.”
Neil then went on to the install the veneers, which involved taking the temporary ones out, applying more laser treatment to her gums and then finishing it all off.
Sam was over the moon with the end result, which cost her £2,200 – a price she says she paid willingly without needing to use any finance or loans.
She said: “All together the process took about six months and was finished a year ago. But the best thing is that people still comment on my teeth and say how lovely they are. I may not have allowed my teeth to get me down too much before, but they really make me feel good now.”
- Having veneers done is not an instant process, be prepared for at least a six-month commitment.
- Whilst not very painful, the process of having cosmetic veneers fitted can cause you some discomfort.
- Your practioner files down your own teeth to fit the veneers, it can be quite shocking when you see your teeth reduced to little stumps.
- However, once the temporary veneers have been fitted you get a genuine sense of what your teeth will finally look like.
- The laser treatment on your gums may leave you with a throbbing sensation. It is only temporary.
- It takes about six weeks between fitting your temporary veneers and having your permanent ones fitted.
- Each of your appointments can last up to three hours, so make sure you’ve put enough time aside for the treatment and be prepared to take some time afterwards to allow the discomfort to wear off.
- A good practitioner will always follow up to make sure that you’re alright after you’ve had the work done and to reassure you.
- Make sure yo get the full price before you start the treatment and that all your questions have been answers so that you know exactly what to expect.
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