It took two unhappy experiences with dentists for Wendy to decide never to go to a dentist again – ever!. One had pulled a tooth and left the space, so her remaining teeth became crooked. Another had to remove an abscess, which again proved an unpleasant experience. “That was it,” says Wendy. “I didn’t go to the dentist for 15 years, but gradually my teeth got worse and they became loose. I even stopped eating apples. Then one of my front teeth fell out, partly because of osteoporosis. I had a family wedding coming up and I didn’t want to go looking like that.” Wendy had been driving past Dr. Tom Pekar’s offices every day and looking at his sign about getting a beautiful smile. At the end of July, she took a chance and went in. “Can you help me?” she asked Dr. Pekar. “Absolutely,” he replied. “We change people’s lives one fabulous smile at a time, and we do it every day,” he explains, showing some of the amazing, untouched, before-and-after photos of those he has worked with. “Wendy is petite but had big front teeth and had let them go,” Pekar continues. “She has exquisite bone structure, and we wanted to bring back that beauty. We decided to give her the same size new teeth to suit her facial geometry, because if we had made them smaller, it would have given her face a sunken appearance. By recreating what she already had, she looked 25 years younger.” This is the artistry of teamwork, Pekar says. With Wendy’s need, the dentist’s technology and excellent collaboration with Andrew and Cora Long of Orchid Dental Laboratory, it meant she could get the work done right away, in lots of time for that wedding. Seven days after Wendy walked into Dr. Pekar’s office, she walked out a new person. She loves to smile – her husband says he hasn’t seen her smile so much in years. That and her renewed self confidence are still bringing her compliments – and she still can’t get used to that, she says. Wendy’s courage and especially her rejuvenated appearance have encouraged her cousin and her niece to take the step she did. Both were petrified of dentists and badly needing dental work. Because of Wendy’s experience and results, they’re going to be working with the same team. Women are more aware of and concerned about their appearance, he says. “They have raised the kids, put them through school and now say `It’s time for me.’ People just get sick and tired of looking sick and tired, says Dr. Pekar, and when they’re ready to do something about it, his door is open.