PAT'S NEW CONFIDENCE

Sometimes even the most outgoing people can have problems with their overall self-confidence if they are living with deteriorating, cracked, or missing teeth.

Pat Mendoza is a very intelligent career woman with a vivacious personality. Pat is active in her church and had a successful 20-year career as an interpreter for the deaf before moving into the medical field. She and her late husband David raised two beautiful, well-adjusted daughters who then turned them into adoring grandparents.

Pat had always been the kind of person who would light up a room just by walking in. But after her teeth started to show visible deterioration, she didn’t project that aura anymore. Her confidence started to wane. She would walk in the room and go hide in a corner.

Pat’s challenges with her teeth were the result of a lifetime of putting the needs of her loved ones before her own. Pat’s mother had a total of 10 children that she had to raise as a single parent. Money was tight. Trips to the dentist were simply not an option. In fact, even having toothpaste in the house was not a guarantee.

While their mother worked, Pat was in charge of raising her four younger siblings. It was a role that required sacrifice. When the family did have toothpaste, Pat made sure it went to her brothers and sisters.

“There are seasons in our lives where we end up putting ourselves last,” explains Pat.

After a childhood without access to dental care, as an adult Pat began experiencing the trauma of cracking and failing teeth.

Pat started to research dental implants, but at the time she and her husband had two daughters in school. She didn’t want them to go without the way she had.

“I wanted the best for them,” explains Pat. This included braces for both girls. Again, Pat’s needs were put on the back burner.

Pat would visit the dentist when she could, spending all day in the dental chair and being charged offensive amounts of money. However, these fixes always turned out to be what Pat calls “Band-Aids”. They were temporary at best, and in the end she was still cursed with a smile she couldn’t stand looking at in the mirror.

She started to withdraw. Her husband said he saw her spark starting to fade.

According to Psychology Today, confidence is not a fixed characteristic. Rather, it can be improved on over time by taking actions to support a healthy self-image.

For Pat the magic to reclaiming her selfconfidence was as simple as investing in a customized smile through The Marquis Center.

With their daughters grown and with families of their own, finally, it was time for Pat and her husband to make her smile a priority.

“I took care of everyone else for so long. Now, it was time to take care of myself,” she says.

Pat had full mouth dental implants performed at The Marquis Center– replacing both her top and bottom teeth. She was surprised by how little pain and recovery time was involved. And, she started getting compliments right away.

“If I had kept doing Band-Aids, I probably would have spent two or three times what I paid for the implants,” summarizes Pat.

Not only did Pat save money in the long run, she also got her confidence back. And that is priceless.