A Winning Smile

As an aspiring model and one-time Miss World Canada runner-up, Simran Singh's face is her business. So, in the fall of 2008, when a car accident caused an airbag to release and severely damage her nose and teeth, Singh was beyond devastated.

"I just remember being in shock, because it all happened so fast," explains Singh, 23, a science grad, accounting student and Elite model. "It's kind of funny," she laments, "because most of my injuries happened on my face—there were no scratches anywhere else."

Singh lost almost the entire bottom half of her two front teeth—and broke her nose—but she didn't even comprehend the extent of the damage herself. Her regular dentist, Hamilton-based Dr. Vineet Bhandari, was busy teaching the day after her accident, so Singh visited another dentist. She wasn't comfortable with the resolution he offered her: a two-week wait until she could get any temporary fixtures. So, she went to see Dr. Bhandari the next day (he had previously whitened and contoured her teeth)

"When I saw Simran, she had cuts and bruises all over her face as well as a broken nose," explains Dr. Bhandari. "Her lips were cut, as were the gum tissues, not to mention her two badly broken front teeth, sliced in a horizontal fracture. The lower incisor teeth were also mildly chipped and would require cosmetic contouring."

Singh took three months off from working for Elite Model Management. "I was never an insecure person, but after the accident, I was overwhelmed by insecurity," she says. "I was told I'd have to wait two weeks to have any repairs done. So when Dr. Bhandari put my temporary composites on, I looked in the mirror and just started crying. They looked almost real. It was very emotional for both the dentist and myself."

Although Singh says the composites looked and felt normal, she still had to be careful about eating certain foods—a worry that was eliminated with the permanent zirconium crowns. "Composite resin was used to restore her teeth temporarily. But they are quite delicate, so she would have to be careful about the things she ate, as it could be embarrassing if the composites broke at a social function," explains Bhandari. "But the key was to get her looking reasonably good and to buy time before putting in the permanent crowns. You need to let the teeth settle to make sure she wouldn't require an endodontic treatment down the road."

In January 2009, Bhandari created a wax mock-up of Singh's two front teeth. He also did a one-hour whitening session to ensure a consistent appearance once the crowns were in place.

During the two weeks that the lab was making Singh's permanent crowns, Singh wore temporary ones. On the day of the permanent fitting, her temporary crowns were loosened and Singh went to Oakville, Ont. to have the permanent ones placed properly. She then returned to the doctor's office for the bonding procedure. "I didn't know what to expect because I had gotten used to the composites," explains Singh. "But when I got them, I was absolutely thrilled! They looked even better than my original teeth!"

In June, Bhandari did end up having to treat Singh for a root canal. But aside from that reminder of the incident, she's been able to resume life and move on from the emotional trauma of the accident. "[In my industry,] the entire face is so important. It was a really big obstacle for me to overcome."