Healthy Mouth, Happy Smile

This article is sponsored by Swiss Denture Clinic & Academy Denture Clinic

Carolyn Allison has a lot to say about a healthy mouth.

A healthy mouth helps you look good, eat comfortably and interact confidently with others. A healthy mouth is essential for a good quality of life.

Carolyn is happy to say that after years of difficulty, she has finally found her way back to a healthy smile.

She’s had more than her fare share of teeth problems, including root canals, crowns, extractions, dental implants and many other procedures.

“For two or three years, I was living in pain that wouldn’t go away,” says Carolyn. She finally told her dentist to take out her crowns, although he could see no problem with them.

“He took them off and my teeth crumbled in his hand. All the x-rays I’d been having couldn’t see through the crowns and into the infections underneath,” she explains. The dentist recommended extractions and implants in order to anchor a new set of dentures.

Carolyn got the implants. “I wound up in the emergency room for five days,” she reports. The tests turned up nothing wrong with the implants. “Meanwhile, I had a non-stop sinus infection. No one had any idea that the two were connected.”

After years of major dental work, Carolyn was done with it. “I’d invested so much into my mouth, practically enough to buy a house,” she declared. “The implants came out and, magically, no more sinus infections.” A scan showed that the root canals went into the sinus cavity, causing the infections. She also learned that she was allergic to the alloys that were part of the titanium implants.

Where to turn now?

Meet Kam Wong, a Licensed Certified Denturist, with offices in Bellevue and Seattle.

“Kam is like family,” says Carolyn.

She remembered him from years before when he helped her with a partial denture. “I’d gone through two partials in less than a year.” Her dentist told her not to chew so hard, but she needed to find a better solution. That’s when she found Kam.

“The partial he made lasted me for more than 10 years. It was a godsend.”

Years later, after the implants were removed and it was time for new dentures, Carolyn knew she wanted to go back to Kam.

“When I walked into the office, he recognized me after 10 years,” she says. “He said, ‘Let’s get your mouth so it is usable and not giving you pain.’ And when we were done, it was the first time in years and years that my mouth felt healthy and I could actually chew and enjoy food,” exclaims Carolyn.

“You get to work and talk directly with the denturist and for me it has made all the difference. He is so easy to talk to. Kam has been the best teacher and guided me through everything,” she says. “I am so thankful.”

“Denturists are trained specialists who listen to our patients’ needs and personally handle every step of the process,” says Kam.

Kam considers it important to educate his patients. “After your teeth are extracted, you will most likely have some bone loss over time. This will alter the fit, comfort and effectiveness of your dentures and it is important to see your denturist every year to check the fit.”

Readers with dentures may be interested to learn of a product that Kam specializes in: Soft Hold Liners are a highly elastic material that flexes and molds to the gums, reducing pressure points and providing a better fit. “This affords the patient greater comfort and security with their denture,” says Kam. For patients with no ridge support in their lower dentures, Soft Hold Liners helps the lower denture stay in place better. “During the last 26 years of my practice, we have had over a 95% success rate with the soft liner in a lower denture,” says Kam.

Soft Hold Liners can be added during the construction of new denture or during the reline or rebase of an existing denture. Relines can be done in as little as one day. “In the morning you come in, have a new impression taken of your gums. You come back later that afternoon to pick up your proper fitting denture.”

As a Licensed Denturist, Kam finds it rewarding helping people achieve a healthy, happy smile and a pain-free mouth.

Kam Wong, LD can be reached in Seattle at 206- 935-6844 and in Bellevue at 425-451-2284.