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Super Smile
Smiles and why they matter to Michael CIVIC orthodontist Dr Michael Hyde says he loves Canberra – after 22 years in practice here, he enjoys creating beautiful smiles, and seeing how those smiles transform his clients’ lives. “Canberra’s a wonderful place to be – and it’s easy to become part of the community,” Michael says. “People smile at you in the street and say hello; and as an orthodontist, it’s wonderful to see people smile.” At his city-based practice, Super Smile, Michael works with clients of all ages – and he says it’s personally very rewarding to see how his work affects them. “When you first meet someone, if they don’t feel comfortable smiling, they don’t show their true personality,” he explains. “However, if you’re happy and smiling, people think you’re a lovely, friendly person. “When people don’t feel comfortable smiling because they don’t like their teeth, they may cover their mouth or do a half-smile, with their lips closed, so they don’t show their teeth. It’s the Mona Lisa smile – and, in fact, it’s been suggested that the Mona Lisa hadn’t any teeth, and she didn’t want to smile in the portrait because of that. “And when people feel that way, it’s quite sad. There’s also the fact that for young people in particular it’s a fairly competitive workplace, and if a person is confident about their
Dr Michael Hyde... “People smile at you in the street and say hello; and as an orthodontist, it’s wonderful to see people smile.” appearance, it helps them have a better chance.” Children and teenagers are set at ease with regular fun days – the practice team may come to work in pyjamas or other costumes. “It’s
all about having fun, not being too serious and staying young at heart,” says Dr Hyde. Michael says he also works with older people, whose needs are quite different. Part of the ageing process
involves greater exposure of the lower teeth instead of the upper – helping to reverse this process creates a younger-looking smile, he says. Some clients need to have their jaws aligned, to correct underbites
or overbites, but also lack of facial symmetry. “It’s all part of creating a beautiful smile,” Michael enthuses. Super Smile has just been joined by a new orthodontist, Canberran Ray Te Moananui, and Michael says he’s excited about working with his new team member. “I have a great team, but as an orthodontist I’ve been doing it by myself for 21 years; and Ray’s a very good orthodontist.” Services offered by the practice include the Invisalign system, which Michael says is good for many, but not all, clients. “It’s especially good for adults as it’s virtually invisible – it makes the teeth a little shiny, but most people are okay with that, they think it’s cool,” he says. “It’s a system of aligners which are replaced every two weeks. One of the best things about them is that they can be taken out to eat, so you don’t need to be self-conscious about what’s caught in your teeth. “If their jaw is a long way out of alignment Invisalign’s not the right system to use; but we also have clear braces and self-ligating braces, which basically means that the old days of having to go to the orthodontist and have braces painfully tightened have disappeared.” More information at www. supersmile.com.au or call 6249 7818.
CityNews June 10-16 15