As Dr. Thomas Pekar points to the wall and the framed photo there of a lovely woman, he explains that this is a very special patient. Her name is Nancy and she has a beautiful smile. But that was not always the case he says. Years ago, she was very poorly treated in a dental office and swore she would never go to the dentist again. For twenty years she didn’t. She had some serious health problems, with a heart attack in 1996 and an e-coli infection before that. Those concerns put oral health on the back burner. She knew her mouth was a complete disaster; she didn’t bother to floss and just didn’t think about her teeth. As they deteriorated, she stopped eating many things and hated going out in public. But when her front tooth fell out Nancy knew she had to do something about it. “I had driven past Dr. Pekar’s funny sign a hundred times so when this happened I decided to call and make an appointment.” Apprehensive on arrival, Nancy was bowled over the warmth of the reception she received from the team and especially relieved after sitting down with Dr. Pekar. “He was terrific. He did not make me feel badly about all the things that were wrong in my mouth. We talked about my health problems as well as the gum disease and inflammation in my mouth. We made an appointment for three days later to start the work I needed.” “When Nancy came in she had many health concerns” says\ Dr. Pekar “We spoke about the inter-relationship of the mouth to whole body health. Periodontal disease has been directly linked to heart attacks and strokes, osteoporosis and diabetes. He explained that bacteria in dental plaque have been detected in arterial plaque clogging arteries. Her uncontrolled gum inflammation was putting a strain on her immune system and heart at the same time. “I remember standing in the hallways with the girls helping me choose the colour of my new teeth. I felt that they were my sisters.” Nancy’s final treatment consisted of a complete upper denture and a partial lower denture from Orchid Dental Ceramics “The biggest part of Nancy’s care was understanding her needs and goals” Dr. Pekar notes. “she made the commitment to enjoy health instead of managing disease.” When the treatment was complete, Nancy had a bold and rejuvenated smile. “My family is delighted” Nancy says. “They had seen me going downhill in front of their eyes. I felt comfortable with my new mouth immediately and now I can go out and smile. I can’t thank Dr. Pekar enough. When Dr. Pekar asked me about telling my life changing story I immediately agreed. If what I went through could help someone else get a new lease on life as I did, then I wanted to share it. “I have just returned from Paris, where I walked a million miles and smiled as many times” says Nancy “that’s something I would never have done before”.