A New Smile, A New You

It’s been a hectic five days for Dr. Michael Apa, a partner in The Rosenthal-Apa Group, a private aesthetic dentistry practice in New York City. Since he landed in Dubai, he’s been seeing three patients a day, fully blocked in four-hour surgeries each.



Behind those closed clinic doors, he makes dreams of beautiful smiles that can rival Tom Cruises’ classic grin come true. Despite Dr Apa’s apparent good looks, which could easily slot him in for Prince Charming, he’s actually your fairy godmother – or godfather, in this case. With modern technology and the use of porcelain veneers, combined with his own artistic flair, he customises teeth to become perfect for each client, which, in turn, translates into perfect smiles.



As he shapes the teeth, he also brings balance or symmetry to the facial features-and all this without the use of invasive surgery. This magic is known as facial Aesthetic Design or FAD, a new approach to aesthetic dentistry that he is pioneering. His Cinderellas, however, are the ones in rags.



"I see big business people dressed in perfect suits, ties have a nice knot on it, cufflinks, rings, nice watch, shoes polished, and terrible teeth. I just don’t understand how they can put emphasis on everything else but the one thing that people see first. Your teeth are a sign of health, indicative of oral hygiene, a way for people to see how you take care of yourself," Dr. Apa explains.



FAD is purely cosmetic, and, of course, totally optional. It is for people who understand the need for perfect teeth that fit with everything that is innate about themselves – their bone structure, their facial features and their skin colour.



When people ask him if they need it, his answer is very direct. "No," he says, the only reason you need it is if you have a problem and you want it fixed, or if you yourself don’t like how things look."



The process usually takes place within four appointments. However, patients in Dubai are fast-tracked. Dr. Apa is only in the emirates four times a year, so the initial consultations are held with representatives of Dr. Michael’s clinic in Dubai, his current local partner, to get an idea of what the patients want and to fully brief them about FAD. If the clients have any underlying condition that may require more teeth to be shaved off than necessary before they can put in the veneers, they would recommend orthodontic treatment first. After all, the whole concept is to give back structure to the teeth, not to take them off. When the first actual meeting with Dr. Apa happens, it may take about three hours.



"When people come in, l shape their temporaries, put them in their mouth, do all the reconstructions, take all impressions to have everything made so they can say ‘Yes I like this’ or No, I don’t’, and I can see what it looks like, and I can update my ceramist about it," he explains. These temporaries give clients their ‘trial smile’, which they can test drive for the next four days. It gives both client and dentist enough time to get used to it and see if there are still improvements that need to be done.



In the meantime, Dr. Apa sends the case details to his ceramist in New York and after four days, he will receive the veneers. The next appointment sees his clients getting their new teeth and new permanent smiles in. The veneers last for about 15 years, and the process is irreversible. So when you decide to have it done, be ready to have that smile for the next decade and a half. And just like your regular teeth, you need to maintain your new set with regular dental hygiene.



To the naysayers out there, you’re right, everything is not beautiful in fairytale land. There’s a very slim chance of biting into a bad apple and suffering pain as a consequence.



"Nothing dental is extreme, if you have a root canal, that’s probably the worst case scenario ," Dr. Apa clarifies, but if it’s not done properly – which is only as little as 1 per cent of cases – you can cause joint pain, you can’t chew properly, your jaw either becomes locked or is constantly in pain. I’ve seen these with patients who were treated by other dentists. If that’s the case, you have to put them in a little TMJ appliance – a Temporo-Mandibular Joint – a guard you wear at night to release the pressure in the joints and make it normal again or lock it in the right position. After you correct that, then you work on the teeth."



Most of his clients understand his specialty and seeks him out for it. However, there are also patients who have a different idea from what he offers and will insist on being treated. When this happens, Dr. Apa will recommend them to other dentists. His specialty is in transforming people’s smiles and he will offer nothing less.



It is the same need for excellence that brought him to where he is now. As young as five years old, he knew that he wanted to be a dentist. When he was about 18, in dental school, he heard about celebrity dentist, Dr. Larry Rosenthal, and decided that was his future. "I brought his audiotape at the time – that’s how long ago it was! – And heard his lectures. Thinking he was my kind of guy, I sought him out, and he hired me out of dental school," he relays.



From there, he forged on and become one of the leading pioneers of non-invasive cosmetic dentistry, and the other half of the Rosenthal and Apa Group, where he also handles the post graduate teaching facility as the managing Director. Now, he is dedicated to exploring cutting edge aesthetic dentistry.



Despite these amazing advances in technology, Dr. Apa believes that there will be more improvements in this field. "I think the cosmetic trends are going to get more and more natural and that clients are going to understand that they do not want gleaming big white teeth. People have started asking for more natural colours now."



"Technology-wise, we have laser that cut teeth now, we don’t use the drill anymore," he shares. He also described new laser machines in their New York Office that do away with the goopy pink molds, and instead scans teeth and prepares the porcelain filling with very little ‘invasion’ into your mouth. "Now, you can come in, we get you numb, laser the tooth, scan it digitally with a digital impression, send it to the machine in the office and that digitally scans a dye and cuts the filling out of a chunk of porcelain, glazes it and then that same day, you can come back and we can put it in your mouth-that takes seven minutes to nil."



True enough, new and better technologies are being developed and as the use spread and the costs go down, people around the world benefit. "The technology is good. It’s not perfect but it’s getting better, "he concludes. In the meantime, what you need for that perfect smile is already here.



HOW IT’S DONE

Appointment One: Initial Consultation/Smile Enhancement Session and Temporary Veneers Created -during this session, Dr. Apa utilises radiographs, video examinations and computer simulations to analyze the balance of the patient’s teeth and face. An impression of the mouth is also taken for a diagnostic wax-up. Dr. Apa then consults with master ceramist, Jason Kim, to create a Temporary Trial Smile for the patient. Kim creates a wax-up and then Dr. Apa makes temporary veneers, hand-carving them to closely approximate how the end result will look. When designing these temporary veneers, Dr. Apa takes the primary principles of FAD into consideration including facial shape and size, lips, distance between the eyes, nose, chin, how the soft tissue lies, and finally hair and skin tone.



Appointment Two: Temporary Trial Smile is Fitted – the patient’s teeth are now minimally shaped and fitted for the temporary veneers which will be worn by the patient for just under a week. This unique step allows patients to test drive their new smile.



Appointment Three: Permanent Veneers are Created – after wearing his/her temporary Trial Smile, the patient returns to provide feedback on the look and fit of their veneers. Any revisions of the temporary veneers are shared with the master ceramist and a new mold is made prior to creating the final veneers.



Appointment Four: Permanent veneers are fitted – at this time, Dr. Apa removes the temporary veneers and the patient is fitted with their new permanent smile.



Appointment Five: Follow-up appointment – this final re-contouring appointment during which Dr. Apa applies the finishing touches to the patient’s new smile, occurs one to two days after the veneers are fitted.

What it costs: The costs is on case-to-case basis, but on average will start at around USD40,000.



For inquires: email jackie@rosenthalapagrp.com or call their New York office at +12127949600. For more information visit Cosmetic Dentist in Dubai Article from Arabian Women Magazine.