TESTIMONIALS
Bill's Testimonial
September 2003
No one likes going to the dentist but as a dentist myself I am worse than most people. I started working with Patrick and Moya 8 years ago as a specialist oral surgeon in their practice (I have both dental and medical degrees as well as a surgical qualification), and have mainly been involved with performing extractions and in placing dental implants.
During this time, I gradually became aware that both of the Cullens spent a great deal of their time correcting and adjusting their patients' bites (their occlusion), much more so than most of the dentists with whom I worked. Initially I was very sceptical that these adjustments made any significant difference — but this was an indication of my own ignorance.
As an oral surgeon I have had little to do with occlusion over the years. It was the rather boring and difficult to grasp topic that I was taught at dental school and was far more important for crown, bridge and denture treatments than for surgery. The more time that I spend out of hospital practice and instead spend working in dental practices, the more I realise that occlusion really is very important.
I work for a number of dentists in practices that vary from Harley Street to Brighton High Street and the one thing that has become clear is that the better dentists get the occlusion right before doing anything else — if previous dental work has failed on that tooth, then the bite MUST be corrected BEFORE replacing the filling or crown, otherwise the restoration will fail again.
Still, it is much easier to treat someone else than to allow someone else to treat you. I have been aware for many years that I grind my teeth very heavily and that this has caused tremendous wear to them. I am generally a very calm individual but there are always times in everyone's lives when stress comes to the surface. When this happens to me I show it by grinding my teeth —if I imagine being cut up in London traffic I can almost picture myself grinding my teeth together.
Patrick spotted wear on my teeth about 4 years ago and has been gently coaxing me towards having something done about it. Even though I am a dentist and work in dental practices every day of my working life, it is about 12 years since I have had a proper dental check-up (all I tend to do is take an x-ray or two every 5 years or so). I always found an excuse to avoid having any treatment until one of Patrick's nurses (also a qualified dentist) underwent occlusal adjustment herself. She raved about how she finally had a proper bite and how everything now felt even when she chewed. Having observed the high standard of Patrick and Moya's work over the last 8 years, this nurse's testimony was the final encouragement I needed to begin treatment.
Patrick and Moya began my treatment with careful assessment — x-rays and impressions, so that models of my mouth could be produced to show how badly my teeth fitted together and to plan how to remedy this.
I was very apprehensive about my first session of actual treatment, but I shouldn't have been. Patrick talked me through the procedure, which was to adjust my bite. This is a weird feeling! Eating was interesting at first but it is amazing how quickly you adapt so that it feels normal after only a few days.
The next stage was to replace some of my old amalgam fillings with modern white ones. I was particularly interested in the intra-oral camera that was used to show me what was going on at every stage. It's amazing how decay follows any cracks in the teeth — but it's something that you would never normally see as a patient unless shown it with the camera. I had fillings replaced by both Patrick and Moya and was surprised at how straightforward the whole procedure was.
I'm now waiting for some of my teeth to move and am actually looking forward to the next stage (who'd have thought it!) where everything is carefully ground into the perfect bite.
I work with many different dentists all over the country, and I think the fact that I have chosen Patrick and Moya to treat my own teeth should speak for itself.
Yours 
The Final Chapter
May 2005
Oh what a difference 18 months can make!
When Patrick and Moya first started working on my mouth I never realised how different my mouth could feel or how much extra confidence it could mean for me. I have ground my teeth together for most of my life and I had worn down about 1/3 of my upper front teeth. I knew they looked bad (never good for a dentist like me) but I could always find an excuse to put off the treatment I knew I needed.
Once I had my bite adjusted I had all my old amalgam fillings replaced with new white ones. I then had a short course of orthodontic work to upright my two lower wisdom teeth which had come through crooked. This took up the major part of the time required for all my treatment. By turning these lower wisdom teeth into useful functioning teeth, the destructive forces I produce when I grind are spread over a larger number of teeth, thereby spreading the load.
Once my bite had been corrected and my wisdom teeth brought into function, it was finally time for the cosmetic work to be done. Patrick has placed porcelain veneers (a bit like high tech false fingernails) onto the front four of my upper teeth and 2 full crowns onto my canines. The canines need the extra strength of the crowns as these are the teeth that guide the bite and therefore have to withstand additional forces when chewing.
What was it like having all this work done? Well it is certainly not something you would wish to go through every day. Patrick and Moya are very good at giving painless injections, but it is never fun lying back in a dental chair. There were times when the treatment was uncomfortable — particularly the orthodontic work (you'll know what I mean if you've had braces yourself) but I always felt I was in safe hands and I knew that Patrick and Moya had my best interest at heart.
What is my mouth like now? It is only once you are truly able to smile without worrying about your teeth that you realise how much you had avoided smiling. I never thought that my teeth affected me much. I have never felt short of confidence, but when I first got my beautiful new teeth I kept catching myself not smiling and I suddenly realised how much I had been hiding my old teeth. Now I can smile un-self-consciously for the first time in years.
I got married earlier this month and the wedding photos speak for themselves!
Take the plunge and get your teeth sorted out properly by professionals who care
Yours
Mr Bill Schaeffer BDS, MBBS, FDS RCS Eng, MRCS Eng
