The story and testimonial of Jennifer Benitez
Well, for the last few days, we’ve been following a young woman very close to us through an amazing transformation. Local 10 producer Jennifer Benitez was terrified to even get a checkup at the dentist before her whole makeover started. So the next step, surgery, as you might imagine, was very scary. Jen Herrera is here now with more, Not one, but two serious surgical procedures still need to be done. Now, this first one you were about to see allowed Jennifer to be in and out of braces in just six months. Here’s how Hurting too, doesn’t it? If you think of the jawbone as a block of wood or a piece of stone because it’s mostly mineral, then it’s hard to move teeth through a piece of stone. What we’re doing today is going to change the composition of the jawbone from more of a mineral-based bone to more of a water-based bone.
So instead of wearing braces for the average 24 months, a patient can be in and out of them and a quarter of the time. Then we put in some donor graft material so that the teeth have some place to move into. Not only is Dr. Detour performing the Periodontally assisted Osteogenic Orthodontics procedure, but gum surgery too, Eyelids look like they’re getting a little droopy.
Both are painful. So Benitez is sedated in just a few months. Jen went through a lot, and thanks to our dream team of doctors in that time, her mouth got healthy, she had her wisdom teeth pulled, braces put on gum surgery, and next is jaw surgery Because we think that her jaw is just generally out of place. It’s not the right position for it. It’s essentially lopsided and too far back.
Maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Michelle Matu, also points out her midline doesn’t line up. We can see it here. This creates a crooked bite and smile. Oh,
In a healthy, young, professional girl, nobody should have that handicap. It’s a social handicap. Dr. Matoo performs a seven hour surgery at North Broward Medical Center. The procedure to graphic to show works like this, We open up the gum on top of the teeth and we essentially just bring the jaw Down the jaws, then placed in a new spot, making it more functional, and next We make a split along this way. We make a split in front and a split behind. And really what we’re doing is we’re slicing the jaw, we’re slicing it so we can move it either forward or back. And in her situation, we’re going to move it forward. We’re going to put it in the right position that we want. And as you can imagine, recovering from that jaw surgery was by far the toughest part for Benitez. But there are still a few steps to take to turn this one stent phobic into a healthy, smiling young woman. And you guys are going to see the final reveal tomorrow, right here on Local 10 News at noon. Christine, Calvin. Wow. Oh Wow. But Jen, I mean, going back because for folks maybe didn’t see the very first story, the reason that she has so many problems is that she just didn’t go to the dentist for years and years. Right?
Exactly. Jennifer had a real fear of the dentist for 10 years. She didn’t even go for checkup. And it’s not because she didn’t want to or she didn’t care. She had a real fear for it. So not only were we fixing physical things this time around, but we were also really trying to target that and to address that fear. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And today we are wrapping up a series that for very giving doctors may possible. Now, if you’ve been watching all week long, a producer here at Local 10 has undergone an extreme makeover. For the past eight months, Jennifer Benitez was completely terrified of going to the dentist, and as a result, her health and her teeth suffered. Well, today we’re showing you the new Jennifer, healthier both inside and out two weeks later, and jaw surgery is still taking its toll. Jennifer Benitez is, without a doubt, still swollen, but she’s almost done. Recovery is long and hard. It’s been about two weeks since Jen got her braces off. In the meantime, she’s had regular cleaning. She’s had her teeth bleach. She even had temporary veneers put on. Well, today she gets her real ones.
Veneers is one of the most rewarding and simple steps that somebody can do to kind of beautify their spine. The teeth are filed down and sterilize thoroughly. Bonding glue is used to make sure the thin laminate porcelain shells from Microlab Dental stay put next, the teeth are hit with a UV light and the excess cement is cleaned Off.
I don’t think that she’s going to ever need sedation after this experience because she’s going to be stable and in just maintenance, she’s going to be alright From Dr. Cintron’s office. Benitez’s final stop is here to the Elite group salon in Fort Lauderdale, where creative director and stylist Henry Amador works his magic Since the look is changing so much and that she’s obviously getting a little bit of a softer look now to soften the hair as well. Next, we’re off to makeup. Okay, A blow dry last minute. And finally, the surprising reveal. Oh, that’s a big difference. A big difference is right. We started with somewhat terrified of the dentist with threatening gum disease and major dental Disfigurations. Jennifer Benitez used to take pictures like this. Well, today she is a healthy 28-year-old woman with no reason to hide her smile. And we have to give special thanks once again to our dream team of doctors, Dr. Yolandas Andron, Dr. Deborah Pere, Dr. Nick Detour, and Dr. Michelle Matoo. They were all such a pleasure to work with the past eight months. And if you’d like more information on any or all of these doctors, you can find it at our find out more section on our web channel that’s Local 10.
Testimonial from Dr. Tom McGuire
I know Dr. Yolanda Cintron and have worked closely with her to establish a Patient Education Program at her Mercury Safe dental office. I consider Dr. Cintron to be a highly trained, dedicated, experienced and skilled Mercury Safe, Holistic dentist. She utilizes her knowledge and training in these areas when designing dental treatment plans for her patients. I am impressed with the depth of her dental knowledge and understanding about the critically important relationship of oral to overall health and her sincere effort to educate her patients. As such I acknowledge her as the “Education Dentist”.
Her ongoing post-graduate training in holistic, cosmetic, and traditional dentistry and her concern for the safe removal of amalgam fillings makes her ideally suited to remove and replace them. I highly recommend Dr. Cintron to anyone seeking a caring, health focused, occupationally Mercury Safe and Mercury Free (amalgam/silver filling free) dentist. She is a charter member of my International Association of Mercury Safe Dentists (IAMSD) (https://mercurysafeandmercuryfree.com/dentist/mercurysafedentistsassociation)
– Dr. Tom McGuire
Please, say hi to Dr. Cintron.