Story by Deb Peterson | Photographed by John Blair and Deb Peterson
You need to whiten your teeth.”
That’s what one of Diane Burton’s trusted friends told her one day. With love, of course.
Diane went home and looked in the mirror. Her friend was right.
It wasn’t for lack of hygiene or trying. Diane had tried many of the available teeth whitening products with either unsatisfying results, whitening that didn’t last, or unacceptable sensitivity to the chemicals.
It wasn’t that her teeth were terrible, but Diane is an independent senior sales director with Mary Kay in Mountain Home. She sells beauty products and enjoys the glam and glitter that go with dressing up. She wanted her smile to shine, too.
It was time to get serious. Diane called Dr. Derrick Johnson.
When Nicole Genova at Integrated Dentistry called Diane to tell her Marvelous! was interested in her story, Diane was planning to attend her 40th class reunion while spending as much time as possible with her 87-year-old mother, Claudia Petty, who was nearing the end of her life.
“I was talking little black dresses and hair and nails,” Diane says, “and then Nicole called. I asked my mother if I was being superficial. She said, ‘No, you go.'”
That was a Thursday.
“My mom died the following Wednesday,” Diane says. “She was so excited about this.”
While going through her mother’s things, Diane found a needlepoint bookmark her daughter had made for Claudia. It read: A smile is the same in every language.
The Process
For two weeks, Diane prepared her teeth at thome for the professional treatment she would receive in Johnson’s office.
Using the KOR Whitening Deep Bleaching System, she carefully followed the instructions she received from Susan Arndt and Ashley Walsh at Integrated Dentistry, who showed her how to fill the soft, flexible trays she would wear at night, and gave her a DVD to watch.
“There was no hurting, no zinging,” Diane says of her at-home prep. “If I can do it, I think anybody could.”
The two-week preparation starts the whitening process, removing the outer stains so the more powerful office treatment can penetrate deeper into the teeth.
“Teeth have facets and grooves,” Johnson says. “The older you are, the harder it is to whiten teeth because the stains are set deeper.”
He says some stains are from the outside in, and others are from the inside out, such as the stains caused in children whose mothers took tetracycline during pregnancy.
“KOR is powerful enough to whiten what couldn’t be whitened in the past,” Johnson says.
The product is so powerful that careful measures are taken in the office to protect the patient’s gums and other mouth tissues. The bleach is applied three times, with timed breaks between. Johnson chose KOR because it’s effective and fewer people have sensitivity issues with it.
Your Smile’s Importance
“A smile is not just white teeth,
” Johnson says. “It’s a person’s essence shining through.”
He cites the many people who cover their mouths when they smile.
“When they’re confident about their smile, they don’t spend energy covering it up,” he says. “They can let their genuine self shine through.”
He’s passionate about helping people do just that, and is devoted to educating his clients about how a healthy mouth is capable of transforming their lives.
“The mouth is so important in our lives,” he says. “We use it for speaking, nourishment, smiling. It reflects our self-esteem. It’s been put it such a small box, the magic of it has been missed.”
Johnson sees that magic return when he restores the proper functioning of a client’s mouth in addition to its aesthetics, including teeth shape, gum lines, and whitening.
“You achieve symmetry in the face when the bite is right,” Johnson says.
He explains how the jaw is like a door that is off its hinge when the bite is not right. Muscles throughout the face tighten in an effort to create balance.
“It’s exhausting, and it shows up in the eyes,” Johnson says.
He has a long list of clients whose faces have changed dramatically when their bite has been aligned and their smile restored.
“One client started with reluctance,” Johnson says. “Now when he comes in, he’s all excited. How he feels about himself and how he expresses himself are dramatically different now.”
What About OTC?
What makes professional treatments better than over-the-counter products?
“Strength of material and length of time on the teeth,” Johnson answered.
If you don’t mind using a product every day, you may see in a year the same result you get in two weeks with KOR, he suggests.
And there’s the sensitivity issue.
The toothpastes and mouth washes with claims of whitening are gimicky, Johnson says.
“The toothpaste with whitening made my gums peel,” Diane added.
“Rinses and pastes may have some maintenance value, but hygiene, a good daily routine, is your best bet,” Johnson says.
He advises that anything that would stain a T-shirt will also stain your teeth.
Diane’s Results
At the end of her three-hour office treatment, Diane checked her reflection in a hand-held mirror.
“Oh!” was her happy response, her eyes shining.
Before her treatment that day, Johnson spent some time recontouring Diane’s front teeth, redefining the edges. She was happy with those results, too.
“Oh, it’s cool,” she says. “They used to look like they went straight across.”
As part of her maintenance plan, Diane received an occlusal splint, a clear guard made to fit her bottom teeth. She will wear it at night to protect the shape of her teeth and keep her jaw in a healthy position.
“It’s made to fit where your jaw wants to be naturally,” Johnson explains. “If you get into the habit of protecting your teeth at night, you can maintain this for a long, long time. You need a plan for taking care of your teeth for a lifetime.”
In addition to wearing her splint at night, Diane will finish the KOR product remaining from her prep, and then maintain the whiteness with a home treatment once or twice a month.
She celebrated with Marvelous! at a photo shoot in John Blair’s studio in Mountain Home to capture her “after” look.
“I bought a little black dress for the annual Mary Kay bash, and I didn’t go because it was during the time I was losing my mother,” Diane says.
M! invited Diane to dress for the party and be our model for our first fashion column, debuting on the following pages, written by Lance and Elizabeth Cheramie of Fayetteville.
Diane, you look marvelous!
See lots of photos of Diane’s experience and “after” photo shoot!
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M! October/November 2011
Diane Burton
Thank you Deb & Dr. Johnson. Deb, you made me feel so special – the article was great! Dr. Johnson, love the white teeth – thank you!!!! and, John Blair – thanks for the great photo shoot – you made me feel like a celebrity!