Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Holiday Smile

By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, November 13, 2006
STORY: HOLIDAY  SMILE
SCRIPT #703  SHOOT: 11/13/06  
AIRDATE: Monday, Nov. 13, 2006
DHC MASTER #17  Timecode: 4:04

Are you one of those people who will not smile in family photos because you are unhappy with the appearance of your teeth? Well, tis the season to take action, especially before the cameras start snapping more holiday photos. News 8’s Dr. Linda Niessen looks at one such case in today’s Dental Health Check.

You might think a radio traffic reporter wouldn’t be concerned about perfect teeth. After all, people only hear a voice, “WBAP traffic every six minutes.”
   
But for years, Laura Houston was self conscious about smiling and showing her teeth.   “I had itty bitty teeth like baby teeth, not ugly teeth but they just weren’t attractive," said Laura. "So one of the things I always wanted was just a beautiful smile. There’s a thousand things they can do now for your teeth.”
   
Laura’s teeth were tilted and discolored. To give her a perfect smile, her dentist placed thin porcelain veneers on the top of eight front teeth.   Laura's dentist, Dr. Lee Fitzgerald, said, “This time of the year, people do get Dentist into the gift giving mode. And there’s nothing better thyan to give something that will last for years and years which is a beautiful smile. We pay particular attention to speech because if you get the position of the tooth wrong, it can have an adverse effect on your speech.” Some dentists have laboratories inside their dental offices. This can speed up the process. From start to finish, it took five days for Laura to get porcelain veneers.

“I’m thankful for my teeth because I think my teeth are gorgeous now.” So now for the upcoming family holiday photographs, Laura plans to do something she almost never did in the past, smile!

For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A & M Health Science Center, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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