Have you ever wondered how your favorite celebrities have such bright and straight smiles? Have you noticed that the ones with those impeccable smiles that you see on TV or in films look much younger than they actually are? The answer is not just as simple as childhood braces and a good whitening toothpaste. I recently met two of the men behind the million dollar Hollywood smiles, who shed light on how to look younger by enhancing your teeth while I, myself, came in for a spa-like dental cleaning and Zoom whitening session at their Beverly Hills office.
With a mutual mission to improve people’s lives, Dr. Pasha Hakimzadeh and Dr. Ben Reyhani joined forces to put their USC School of Dentistry education to work. The Los Angeles-based duo are founders of six dental practices in the Southern California region in addition to being co-owners of the world renowned aesthetic dentistry practice, Apa Aesthetic Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. In addition to serving patients, the duo offer a dental management and marketing consulting arm that provides support to area dentists helping them further their customer base, grow their operations and enhance their marketing channels.
With their non-traditional approach to dentistry, Dr. Pasha and Dr. Ben have created a laid back luxurious experience for their patients combating the stigma of what once was revered through a lens of fear and discomfort. With the celebrated signature Smile Makeover and anti-aging treatments, they aim to restore confidence, happiness and long term health to their patients.
I sat down with Dr. Pasha and Dr. Ben to learn more about how we can all achieve our best smiles and stay looking youthful using their non-traditional approaches to cosmetic dentistry and anti-aging dentistry.
Q:What is APA Aesthetic LA?
We wanted to offer our clients a luxury dental experience that is elevated and different so we partnered up with Micheal Apa and created an office where the design, the feel and how we do dentistry is unique. It’s not a spa, but it’s definitely not a dental office.
This office is a combination of design, art, craftsmanship and fashion all in one place. This is a happy high energy place where patients are not coming to us because they are looking for a dentist, they are coming in for the best experience.
Q: How does your approach differ from traditional dental procedures?
Dr. Pasha: We are trying to wipe out what people think of the dentist and dental visits and recreate it with what we think it should be. We like to have fun and that’s our vibe, our energy, and that is how we train our team. It is a systematic, individualized makeover that is planned out and executed by experts from the first picture to the last adjustment.
Dr. Ben: Our approach is a holistic approach that is focused on beauty and longevity, as opposed to general dentistry which usually consists of doing patch work over and over again until it’s too late and the patient has to see us to restore them to an ideal smile.
Q: If you were to design a perfect smile, what does it consist of?
Dr. Ben: Each person’s perfect smile is unique to them. Our approach here is to use our vast experience and knowledge to customize and deliver the perfect smile to each individual.
Dr. Pasha: It’s essential to create a smile that is unique to our client but within their own facial dynamic. I’m always looking to improve and give my client a better version of their own teeth but better and more aesthetically and functionally pleasing.
Q: What is Anti-aging Dentistry?
Dr. Pasha: It’s pretty simple. As you age, your teeth wear down, get short, discolored or broken down. Gravity pulls things down, lips, corners of the mouth turn down, skin starts to sag, collagen in the face gets diminished which all are signs of aging or experience. We work from inside to design and place veneers in a place where it helps support your lips, cheeks and give more volume to the lower third of the face, removing wrinkles and improving facial aesthetics to reverse the signs of aging without an actual surgery.
Q: How do teeth affect your overall facial structure, particularly when it comes to aging?
Dr. Pasha: Over time the wear of the teeth appear to collapse the face and shorten the vertical height, also the collagen in the face starts to go away and the cheeks tend to droop. Using the anti aging approach, we usually increase the vertical dimension and broaden the smile in order to bring back the youthful vitality lost over time.
Q: How long does your Anti-aging procedure take? Can you tell us more about the steps and appointments?
Dr. Pasha: The majority of our cases take two to three weeks to complete with two 4 hour treatment times and two 1 hour appointment times.
During your first appointment we prepare your teeth for temporary veneers and you will get a set of custom temporary veneers at the end of this appointment. The goal is for you to test drive the new smile.
You will have a 1 hour appointment the following day for us to discuss your temporary veneers and make any adjustments needed before finalizing and making your permanent veneers.
Your third appointment is when we insert your permanent veneers after double checking all the design and function elements and make sure that they are correctly built.
Your last appointment follows your insert day where we get to adjust and fine tune your bite and scan you for a night gaurd.
Q: Do you think aesthetic dentistry should be the first thing someone tries before plastic surgery when seeking to look and feel younger and/or more confident?
Dr. Pasha: Yes, by doing your teeth first we could enhance and improve lip position, fullness, and reduce wrinkles. With all the advances in Anti-aging dentistry we can do some pretty amazing things to reduce the signs of aging without the use of scalpels to bring back years for a younger and more youthful appearance
Q: Do many public figures and celebrities have veneers?
Dr. Pasha: Yes! Most celebrities do have veneers and if you can tell that they do, their dentist didn’t do a good enough job.
Q: Teeth whitening is a big concern for many people, and it can take years off of one’s smile. What do you recommend to your patients when it comes to at-home whitening?
Dr. Pasha: Teeth whitening is great for people with nice teeth that want to make their teeth a few shades lighter, the ones we use in the office are much more powerful and can improve the smile by several shades.When it comes to at-home whitening, I recommend our Apa Beauty Whitening for a quick touch up before a big event or a party and also Tri-white which is economical and effective.
Q: Some people struggle with teeth whitening and chose not to do it because it can make their teeth feel sensitive afterwards. Do you have any tips for avoiding over sensitivity after whitening treatment?
Dr. Pasha: Typically those patients need to find the right combination of home care and professional advice on which products work better for them but in general sensitivity toothpastes have shown good results when it comes to sensitivity. Also many professional whitening systems now offer whitening products for sensitive teeth which usually consists of either lower concentration of the whitening solution or lower setting and intensity of the light.
Q: What are some other daily tips for maintaining a healthy smile?
Dr. Pasha: The health of the teeth are directly linked to the body and vice versa, so it is important to avoid sodas and acidic drinks, limit alcohol, avoid smoking, brush and floss regularly, and you should be in good shape.
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