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Before and After

Peter V. Vanstrom,
DDS, PC, FAGD

It is a story as old as time: The aggressive hockey player and his mid-life dreamto have a perfect smile. After years of hard playing Jim began to wonder if hecould indeed have a fantastic, confident smile and still be the macho ice terrorhe had always been.

In mid 2004, Jim sat down with Dr. Vanstrom to map out his new smile. Dr. Vansromassured Jim that he could cosmetically enhance and brighten his smile under one condition- Jim had to promise to always wear a bite guard when playing hockey.

After just a few months of Invisible Braces to straighten his upper teeth, Zoom!®one hour chair-side whitenting, and finally, the placement of two all-ceramicveneers on his front two (previously broken) teeth, Jim now has a fantasic smile.

According to Jim, “Hardly anyone noticed I was wearing the Invisible Braces.Now with my teeth whitened and the veneers complete. I feel great about my smile!”

Up Close & Personal

with Peter V. Vanstrom,
DDS, PC, FAGD

Why Cosmetic dentistry?

The thrill of the challenge and the satisfaction of the results are reasons why I practice dentistry with a cosmetic approach.

Chair side manner:

My chair side manner reflects my appreciation for my chosen profession. I am honored when a patient chooses my artistic dental care over the hundreds of other dentists available.

Most rewarding part of your job:

I am fortunate to love what I do for a living. When a patient tells methat my staff and I truly made his or her visit comfortable, it makes my job very rewarding.

Hobbies and interests:

Sports! Basketball was my life before dentistry, but now i prefer the outdoors away from the confines of the office. Of course, a simple glass of wine on my deck overlooking the Chattahoochee River with my lovely wife and two daughters is just as enjoyable.

Public appearences:

I have appeared as a dental expert on CNN Weekend House Call and several segments of CNN Live, and serve as a dental expert in literature review for CNN medical segment producers. I was featured in the Up Close section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an article entitled “Dentist tries to Create Masterpiece Smiles,” as well as listed as a Dentist of Distinction in the May 2005 issue of Jezebel Magazine.

View of what lies ahead for cosmetic dentistry:

The future of cosmetic dentistry is very exciting. The lasers currently in use in dental offices will soon increase in versatility and create an almost silent, needle-free dental practice; computer imaging will someday allow a tooth to be viewed in 3-D; and computers and milling machines that already allow us to create crowns for patients all in one visit will soon be standard in all state- of-the-art practices.

What you wish you knew then:

The lord blessed me in so many ways both personally and professionally that I feel guilty looking back to change much of anything.

Troy

Peter Vanstrom, DDS

Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta
2012 Harobi Drive, Suite A
Tucker, Georgia 30084

404.325.2905

As we age gravity does indeed begin to take its toll in dentistry, a very noticeable change takes place as we age: our lower teeth begin to show more. Gravity is tugging our facial and lip support downward and the lower front teeth become visible.

Our featured patient, Troy, an Atlanta area real estate salesman and interior
designer, has found himself fighting this battle, In early 1998, Troy had upper front teeth porcelain veneers created to mask dark brown and gray tetracycline stains. His goal was a whiter, brighter
smile to create more confidence in his business and social interactions. Recently, however, Troy began to notice

his lower teeth showing more and more. He was not happy because the dark brown and gray stains were now an issue again. This winter, at Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta, we completed new porcelain veneers on Troy?s lower teeth. Now, as gravity takes its toll, he confidently shows beautiful, white, ageless teeth once
again!

Since Dr. Peter Vanstrom purchased an existing dental practice in 1997, it has more than doubled in size, and
now ranks in the top 10 percent of dental offices in terms of gross production in the metro Atlanta area. Patients come from all over seeking the dental expertise and care that Dr. Vanstrom has become known for. He even frequently appears on CNN as an expert in dentistry and a consultant on new dental products.

Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta offers cosmetic, restorative, implant and general dentistry, which includes everything from Zoom whitening to Invisalign invisible braces to ceramic veneers. True to his practice’s name, Dr. Vanstrom takes an artistic approach to all aspects of dental care. What he is most proud of is offering a vast array of comprehensive dentistry to his patients instead of specializing in just one area of dentistry. We stay on the cutting-edge of cosmetic, implant, periodontic and endodontic advances, he says. The office also features a variety of impressive technological amenities, such as Sony Video 3D virtual reality movie glasses, which allow patients to watch DVDs during a procedure.

Dr. Vanstrom believes that what sets him apart from his competition is his comprehensive cosmetic approach to dentistry. The first time a patient visits the office, Dr. Vanstrom takes an hour and a half to personally sit down with them, discuss his/her present smile and what about it he/she wants to improve. From there, they map out an individualized journey, step-by-step, taking the patient from point A to point B, and setting up the necessary procedures. The office also has its own dental lab in-house (Artisan Dental Labs), which makes it a one-stop shop when it comes to creating a smile, saving time throughout the process.

A passion for his profession shines through all that Dr. Vanstrom does, making your trip to the dentist all the more pleasant. I absolutely love my chosen profession and look forward to going to work every day, he says with a smile.

Vanessa

Peter Vanstrom, DDS

Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta
2012 Harobi Drive, Suite A
Tucker, Georgia 30084

404.325.2905

A tooth that has had root canal treatment basically becomes a dead tooth. Whether from decay or a traumatic blow, the nerve and blood supply die, making the tooth brittle. It eventually becomes gray or black in color, which is especially noticeable when your front teeth are affected.

Modern whitening techniques offer limited success when it comes to whitening root canal-treated teeth. While a cosmetic dentist has a number of options in his/her bag of tricks to try to bleach these damaged teeth, often porcelain veneers and crowns may be the best option to recreate lifelike, vibrantly white teeth.

When Vanessa first came to our practice, she was frustrated and disappointed that her front teeth were dark. As a child, she had absorbed a blow to her upper front

teeth that eventually required root canal treatment. The subsequent darkening of her front teeth, in conjunction with an uneven gum line, detracted from her smile. In addition, her two front teeth did not match.

The initial treatment plan has to reach into our bleaching bag of tricks to whiten the damaged teeth. Although her healthy teeth whitened successfully, her damaged front teeth remained discolored. We decided to create new beautifully white teeth and perform minor gum surgery to correct her uneven gum line. Vanessa now has a gorgeous smile that includes four ceramic Empress Veneers.

Dentistry by: Dr. Peter Vanstrom, Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta, Ron Allen,, Artisan Dental Lab, Inc.

Hair and Makeup by: Tracey Pearson, Soda Salon in
Roswell

UP CLOSE:DR. PETER VANSTROM

Dentist tries to create masterpiece smiles

By PATTI BOND pbond@ajc.com

You may think of it as a throbbing, god-awful toothache, but Dr. Peter Vanstrom sees a blank canvas.

Dentistry is a creative outlet for this California transplant.

“There’s an art to getting a root canal filled perfectly, just like there’s an art to doing a filling,” Vanstrom says. “Every tooth is a different color and different shape, so you really have to pay attention if you want to match everything just right.”

The masterpiece, of course, is a perfect smile, something Americans have been pursuing like mad in recent years. Blinding grins are everywhere, now that teeth whitening has become easy and affordable.

Vanstrom frequently appears on CNN as Atlanta’s expert on pearly whites.

In the camps that divide old-school dentists and cosmetic dentists, Vanstrom falls somewhere in between.

The Roswell resident says he gets just as excited over filling a cavity or doing a root canal as he does putting on a set of veneers.

“Some dentists are more analytic, but I have more of an artistic side,” Vanstrom said. “That’s where I derive the satisfaction from dentistry—trying to make everything look as beautiful and as perfect as possible.”

Q: What led you to a career in dentistry?

A: I had a horrible bike accident when I was 13 years old, just when I was about to get my braces off. I knocked out some front teeth, so I had to go through a ton of dental work. I was spending quite a bit of time with the dentist and realized that I was really interested in the whole process.

Q: So, instead of getting scared off, you found a calling?

A: Yes, I thought it was neat. I was actually headed to medical school at first, but I quickly learned I didn’t like the hospital very much. There’s a lot of psychology involved, and I couldn’t deal with getting close to people who were passing away.

Q: Speaking of psychology, most people dread going to the dentist’s office. What do you do to help people overcome their anxiety?

A: Well, I don’t think you can ever make them want to come. But when they schedule that appointment and they keep it, I guess that says we’re doing something right. My philosophy is to have as much technology as possible to make the visit as easy and as gentle as possible. But more than that, it starts with the first visit. We’ll spend an hour to an hour and a half just getting to know the patient—not just talking about their dental needs but finding out about their other desires, their personality in general. It really helps us decide how we’re going to help this patient through the dental journey.

Q: Dental journey. That’s an interesting way of putting it. What do you mean by that?

A: We try to find out what the hot buttons are. Is the patient someone who’s concerned about how long their teeth are going to last? A lot of patients say, ‘My mother had dentures, my father had dentures. I don’t want to have dentures.’ Other people just want a whiter, brighter smile. I say ‘dental journey’ because our approach is, your teeth didn’t get the way they are overnight, and it may take awhile to make them perfect.

Q: With the rise in cosmetic dentistry, do people expect perfect teeth these days?

A: Expectations have changed greatly in the past five to seven years. Patients used to be timid about improving their smiles, or even talking about whitening their teeth, especially the middle-aged patient. But now, it’s the first thing off their tongue. Even the geriatrics—that’s an interesting age group because they never wanted to talk about how their teeth looked, it was just part of the aging process. Now I have 80-year-old ladies asking if I can make their teeth whiter. It’s just accepted—and expected—now.

Q: How are you using technology in your practice?

A: The intra-oral camera has been a big breakthrough because it allows the patient to get involved in their care; they can really see what’s going on. [With a magnification of up to 40 times, the camera zooms in close on the teeth, then broadcasts the image on a large screen.] When we were kids and went to the dentist, we just believed whatever he said. Now I can say, ‘you have a problem, and here it is.’ A picture’s worth a thousand words, so I always take a before and after shot. It’s not the kind of thing you’d show at a cocktail party, but I want people to really know what’s going on in the back of their mouths. That kind of ties into our philosophy on the first visit. We’re getting as much information about the patient as possible and giving them back as much info as we can, too.

Q: What are you doing to make the time in the dental chair less nerve-racking?

A: There’s a lot of technology coming out that doesn’t involve needles. We can use lasers to detect cavities earlier than ever before. Basically, the device emits a light that’s absorbed by the bacteria and reflected back in through the machine. It can detect cavities so early that you can do the filling without actually numbing the tooth with a shot. We’ve also got a new product that numbs the gums without a shot—it’s applied with a syringe, but there’s no needle. And there are also lasers and gases that will dissolve the decay without any numbing at all.

Q: What are the challenges in the business of dentistry?

A: The technology is obviously expensive. Debt is my friend—that’s my chant every night. I’ve learned to pick the toys that will bring the best payoff. For example, I’ve got a digital X-ray machine because I perform root canals and do surgical implants. If something’s not quite right, I need to see the picture instantaneously so that I can keep working.

Q: People’s teeth are generally healthier today than in the past. How does that impact your business?

A: Kids just don’t have as many cavities anymore, so the next 20 years will be fascinating because dentistry is going to be totally different. However, I’m in an age group in which people still need the dentist. Even if they don’t have dental problems, people have the disposable income to concentrate on bright, straight smiles—maybe that’s all there will be to do in 20 years, who knows? On the other hand, I’ve seen research saying that roughly 50 percent of people don’t go to the dentist—at least not regularly. That’s a huge untapped market.