A Winning Smile

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 14th June 2010

Winning the Grand National in his maiden race on a 100/1 outsider was the pinnacle of Liam Treadwell's career and although Claire Balding's on-air jibe about his teeth didn't overshadow his moment of glory, it led to a meeting with the dental experts at UltraSmile* who have changed his life

The Patient

When Claire Balding commented on my teeth it didn't overshadow that moment for me but I had been self-conscious of my teeth anyway as I'd lived with this condition for all my adult life. If someone told me to smile I always kept my mouth firmly closed. However, it is only now I have had the treatment that I've realised quite how much the state of my teeth was affecting my confidence.

I was approached by a number of dental companies in the wake of winning the Grand National but they all wanted to rush the treatment  for maximum publicity. What I liked about UltraSmile* was that they were committed to a long-term treatment plan that would achieve the correct results.

Avoiding the dentist

I wasn't scared of going to the dentist; it was embarrassment more than anything else. I would look in the mirror and think there can't be anything you can do with my teeth because they are such a mess so why bother going.

I was very clear at the beginning of the process that racing came first and UltraSmile* were incredibly good at fitting round my career. I have had teeth out, had implants fitted and I haven't missed a day's work or even a meal! Sometime I even went racing the same day as a dental appointment.

A happy patient

For a while my mouth looked worse than it looked better. It was only in the last week when they fitted the temporaries that I could see what the final outcome would be, so for a long time it was just the mould and digital images that showed me what I was working towards. I think UltraSmile* have achieved what they set out to do brilliantly.

I am so pleased with the treatment - although at first it was like I had to learn to smile and talk all over again. I also think it was a great decision career-wise as I meet strangers every day, and I have to deal with the media and owners - being able to face them with a wide smile has given me incredible confidence.

The treatment plan
● Whitening on existing teeth
● A fixed brace in place for six months to move his front two teeth together
● Inman aligner to push two front teeth forward
● Two milk teeth extracted
● Two implants inserted
● Titanium screws inserted into his jaw, followed by a crown
● Crowns then placed over existing teeth and a bridge welded across a gap
● In total, Liam had ten new teeth in the top and ten new teeth in the bottom

The Practitioner
I was able to see the problem with Liam's teeth immediately. He suffered from a combination of genetic conditions - hypodontia that affects the number of teeth that we have and microdontia
where the adult teeth are smaller in size than normal teeth. It is unusual but not uncommon.

Some of Liam's teeth were baby ones and the rest were smaller than average adult teeth - this led to the gaps, which were particularly pronounced at the front. However, his gums and existing teeth were healthy so the treatment was purely cosmetic.

The first stage
When we do big smile makeovers we have to pay attention to the patient's bite and establish that it is functionally stable. There was no problem with Liam's bite so we were able to start work on correcting the position of Liam's teeth.

Firstly, we whitened Liam's existing teeth to make it easier for the lab technicians to match the veneers at a later stage. Then we removed the baby teeth, as it is not possible to restore those, before the orthodontist got to work to move Liam's teeth into the correct position.

Liam wore a brace for about six months - this was particularly aimed at closing the gap between the front two teeth. An Inman Aligner was then used to push the front two teeth forward as they were still inclining inwards.

The second stage
During this time I placed two dental implants in the space adjacent to his top two front teeth. Then when the orthodontic work was completed we were able to restore the missing teeth with crowns, veneers and bridges. In all, there were ten teeth added to the top and ten on the bottom.

Painless procedures
Liam's main worry was that it would impact on his life in a negative way but cosmetic dentistry is actually very painless and most people don't realise this. The most uncomfortable part of the process is usually the injections and even this we can manage for nervous patients.

The only other problem we find is that the patients find it difficult to be in the chair for that amount of time but we have worked hard to create a relaxing environment for them - we give them regular breaks and always apportion more time than they need so we don't have to rush them. This aspect is very important to us and we've won awards for patient care.

Cutting-edge technology
I am very happy with what we've achieved for Liam. In fact, it has worked out even better than I'd hoped for. We used a fantastic company, Knight Dental, which I think is the best dental lab in the UK and we couldn't have achieved these results without them as they provided all of Liam's veneers, crowns and bridges.

The advent of digital imaging has also been of great benefit to patients. From the very first consultation we can show patients what can be achieved with computer graphics and then by life-size wax models once we have taken moulds.

Patients find it very encouraging as they can see what they are working towards particularly if they are embarking on long-term treatment plans. We all have our own idea about what makes a perfect smile but with the digital imaging and diagnostic wax models the patient can have major input in the final outcome. When the temporary veneers are fitted then the patient can still make adjustments in terms of colour, size and shape.

Maybe in the past dentistry was more about the patient being told what the end result would be, but now there are no surprises and we can achieve exactly what the patient wants.