In Search of the Perfect Smile
By Bonnie Sutherland

Slow melodic strains evocative of a film noir movie waft through the well-appointed office. Tasteful carpeting and drapery, deep easy chairs by Krug, and an array of interesting picture books invite the visiter to stay awhile and relax. Life seems wonderful, and after all, what's the rush? Grab a cup of fresh roasted coffee or cool bottled water. Read though Andre Domine's encyclopedic 927-pages tome on the art of wine, or Kevyn Aucon's lush images of the famous modeling full make-up in Making Faces. It's not every day one gets to get away from it all for a trip to the - well they say truth is stranger than fiction - to the dentist's office.

Gone is the clinical jail setting of the over-waxed linoleum floors and window-less waiting room. No more nervous page turning of last year's National Geographic with the torn cover as a loud buzzing drill echoes down the hallway.

Imagine a world where "drill-less" dentistry isn't an oxymoron. Imagine? The future is now. Dr. Richard Weigand is a local dentist who has integrated his practice around this new high art.

Slate colored walls, glossy framed prints of beautiful people with glamorous smiles, and the mellowing aroma of burning scented candles create an elegant ambiance. His office feels more like a private salon or boutique than anything else, which is just how Dr. Weigand likes it. "I'd say probably 20 percent of my patients are looking for aesthetic care," he explains. Still though, that leaves the majority of office visitors just wanting a different dental experience. "Children, especially, can benefit from new advances, such as drill-less technology call Air-Abrasion."

Using laser-based diagnostic equipment, a dentist can find cavities years before a regular x-ray would. Weigand uses one of his dental assistants to show how the small, handheld instrument works. He calibrates the unique quality of her teeth's enamel on a front tooth. Then finding a virgin tooth, one without fillings and caps, he waves the laser wand across the surface of a lower front molar, moving it side to side, arching at different angles. A small screen flashes a number that corresponds to the amount of breakdown in the enamel, indicating the size of the cavity. When the wand's laser finds a cavity, a beeping alarms sounds.

"By catching the decay early enough, we're able to get rid of it without using a drill, and who really wants a drill used?" asks Dr. Weigand. "Drills are loud, they mean needles for the anesthetic, and you end up losing a lot more tooth than you really need to because a drill is so invasive." By using an innovative air-abrasion system to remove the decaying spot of tooth, the dentist can save the patient much unwanted pain. In addition to patient comfort, air-abrasion makes repaired teeth less likely to need crowns and root canals in the future.

But who's kidding whom? Dentists aren't paying a fortune on interior designers and soft lighting in order to spare patients the needle. Cosmetic dentistry is big business. Beauty in our culture carries with it its own inherent value, a magnetic power over those who are easily swayed by its charms. And in the same way cosmetic surgeons sell the promise of a richer more fulfilling life, so do cosmetic dentists.

Dr. Weigand keeps a photo album of his patient's "before and after" portraits. He opens the book to a female patient who had a fairly intensive overhaul of her smile. Her smile before treatment wasn't so much terrible as it was simply average. The finished result was breathtaking. A periodontist had to reposition her gums and bone because her smile was too "low." After suturing the gums back into place, Dr. Weigand applied porcelain veneers to her top ten teeth for a very "toothy" grin. "This is a major decision," admits Weigand, "but the technology is here to help a patient get the smiles they want."

The cost for such extensive surgery? That's ultimately an arrangement between the provider and patient, but for ballpark figures, a patient is looking at anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000 for the application of porcelain veneers on the upper visible teeth, and up to $50,000 for a major overhaul of upper and lower. And if the procedure is strictly cosmetic, dental insurance won't apply. It's a large price to pay for a gorgeous smile.

But for some ardent fans of cosmetic dentistry, the statistics are just too compelling. Of those polled, 88 percent believe that an attractive smile is a distinctive enough trait for an individual to be more memorable, and over 80 percent agree that unattractive smiles make others of the opposite sex less appealing.

Alice Davidson, a bookkeeper, had her smile enhanced with porcelain bonding. "My husband and I were vaguely aware that something like that was available. And then we went to a class reunion and saw a number of classmates who looked different; well, you could tell they had had something done to their teeth," says Davidson. Given the costs involved, she originally planned on just having a few teeth done. "Then [Dr. Weigand] asked me to be his patient for the Pacific Aesthetic Continuum." She was flown down to San Francisco for a seminar on cosmetic dentistry. "It was a very interesting experience. I enjoyed it and had the best people in the country working with Dr. Weigand. I had my whole mouth done, 20 teeth done in San Francisco and the other eight up here in his office." Veneers were placed on all her teeth, as well as porcelain crowns on her back teeth.

And the cost? Davidson hesitates, laughs, and finally says, "over $20,000." That was for her alone, not including what her husband paid for his dental work; although she's quick to add that "the results are fantastic. There's just no comparison. I would go through I all again." Also, her other dentist had told her he would have to break her jaw in order to improve her bite. "And I'm 50 and I have a lot of old dental work, and I just couldn't imagine going through that. And my teeth are all white, like they're brand new. And they're really beautiful and they don't stain, and you can drink all the red wine you want."

By capping the teeth, the dentist is able to correct a patient's bite in the dental chair. How so? A dentist and good lab technician can study the patients' bone structure and design the caps to fit properly together before application. When one's teeth are not in alignment, premature wearing down of the teeth as well as gum recession result. Furthermore, studies have consistently linked moderate to severe gum disease to an increase in heart-related pathology and a host of other ailments.

Mark Icksic, 48, is a local farmer who says he's had bad teeth since he was a kid. "I got smacked in the face by a cow when I was real young. I was ear-tagging a calf and she head-butted me hither on yon," he jokingly recalls. "I wound up going to Dr. Dwight Damon, and he straightened my teeth out." But given the size teeth nature provided him, his bottom front teeth often hit the back of his top front teeth. "My dentist (Dr. Weigand) kept saying I was headed for a wreck, that I was wearing out my teeth, that I was wearing the enamel off and getting really close to the nerve. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want caps." But he explains how Dr. Weigand explained to him that Damon himself needed to have the same thing done, and he didn't do it. "His teeth are real short, and he was sorry he hadn't done it. And Dr. Weigand showed me pictures of what was happening, of all the wear and tear and what we were going to accomplish with the capping. I hemmed and hawed. I was a real sissy. And it cost a lot of money, but now I'm so glad I did it. My teeth don't rub on each other anymore. Instead, when I bite, they just lift off each other."

Icksic describes himself as middle class, with a two-income family. "I wouldn't spend this kind of money for cosmetic stuff. Sure this made my teethe look good, but this was also about quality of life, my long-term health. I'll have my teeth forever now."

If this is all a bit too much for the average reader, there are more conservative approaches to improving one's smile. Porcelain onlays are slightly more expensive than composite fillings, but they're a better alternative, not to mention safer than mercury. They're healthier, more natural, and they make the teeth not only look better but make them stronger," says Dr. Weigand.

Moreover, it's important to remember that one needn't visit a cosmetic dentistry specialist to obtain a better smile. Oral health is key; after all, a healthy smile is always a great smile. "First, yes, I'm a dentist," says Weigand. "but I also want people to feel really good about themselves."

Spokane-Coeur d' Alene Living Magazine Article

Articles About Dr. Weigand

In Search of the Perfect Smile
Spokane-Coeur d' Alene Living Magazine Article

Give Yourself a Brighter Outlook on Life
Spokane-Coeur d' Alene Living Magazine Article

Give Back a Smile
Spokane-Coeur d' Alene Living Magazine Article

Revolution in Dentistry Lets You Open Wide
Spokane Club Smoke Signals

In The Vanguard
Spokane-Coeur d' Alene Living Magazine Article

Menu Please! Teeth Whitening Options
Northwest Woman Magazine – Jun/Jul 2006

Sports Safety
Northwest Woman Magazine – Oct/Nov 2006

The No-Pain, No-Grind, No-Shot, Perfect Smile
Northwest Woman Magazine – February/March 2007

Sedation Dentistry Works Like a Dream!
Northwest Woman Magazine – Oct/Nov 2005

Something to Smile About
Northwest Woman Magazine – Jun/Jul 2005

Another Dental Visit
Northwest Woman Magazine – Aug/Sept 2005

Dress Up Your Smile for the Holidays
Northwest Woman Magazine – Dec/Jan 2005

Dr. Weigand Videos

Q6: LOCAL NEWS TODAY
DR. WEIGAND AT WORK
FOX 28: FIRST AT TEN HEALTH - DESENSITISING TEETH
TESTIMONIALS
THE WATERLASE DESENSITIZES TEETH - COSMETIC COMPUTER IMAGRY

You will need Quicktime Player to view the Dr. Weigand Videos.
Click on image below to begin download.