FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY
life
Dental diary
A recent patient of Dr Sattar from Wootton
Dental practice talks to Roz Whistance
“I feel I’ve been given a
second chance with the way I
look,” said Diane, a youthful
60-something. “I can’t say how
marvellous it is.”
Diane has a busy and very
public role in the hotel industry.
So it wasn’t just the constant
discomfort with her teeth which
led her to Wootton Bridge
Dental Surgery, it was also a
growing self-consciousness. “I
tried not to let my teeth worry
me but I found I was trying to
hide them when I smiled.”
Meeting and greeting is very
much part of Diane’s job, but it
was meeting (and presumably
greeting) the man with whom
she was to fall in love with that
prompted her to “go down
the implant route,” she says.
“He’s younger than me and
it’s a full-on relationship. I had
the money so I spent it on my
teeth.”
Dr Sattar at Wootton Bridge
was frank about Diane’s teeth
– he said they were in a terrible
state. But she was relieved to
hear that he could help her.
Naturally she was concerned
about the expense: “He told me
what it would cost and it was
exactly that, to the penny,” she
said.
The dentist’s no-nonsense
approach to her needs was
reassuring – even if the timescale
for the treatment, at six to eight
months, was longer than the
television makeover programmes
had led her to expect. She has
since read newspaper horror
stories about the after-effects of
such rush-jobs.
All of Diane’s top teeth
were removed whilst under
intravenous sedation and local
anaesthetic and the titanium
implants (which are really
artificial replacements for the
natural roots of the teeth)
placed immediately. While the
stitches were in place she “went
incognito”, staying with her
brother. She admits to “taking
to her bed” for the first day,
but thanks to the medication
she was given, she felt no real
discomfort. “I can’t emphasise
enough how kind Dr Sattar and
all his team were,” says Diane.
“I was told to call at any time if I
was concerned. During the time
that the implants were healing
in her jaw Diane wore an upper
denture specially made for her
so that no one was any the wiser
that she was having this complex
treatment.
“I went on holiday the day
after the new teeth were fitted,
and since then I’ve had no
trouble at all.”
And now guests at the hotel
where she works are given
a smile with that old ring of
confidence. “They say I look
marvellous. I don’t say I’ve had
all my top teeth out – I say I’ve
changed my face cream! But
then they don’t need to know.”
Footnote: Margaret, featured in
the last Dental Diary, has been
fitted with dentures while she
awaits the next stage of the
implant process.
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