For Jackie Bruce, working for the Harvard Institute for International Development and then a consortium of French and American companies in Tehran in the late 1970s, her professional and personal life was all in order. Until she dove into a swimming pool and broke her two front teeth on a metal pipe. Then the horror that would plague her for nearly 27 years began. The first set of caps broke after only two years, by which time she was back in the States and working in New York.  The next set of caps lasted longer, about 18 years, although knowing the teeth could break at any time, Jackie began to hide her smile by putting her hand in front of her mouth. She also held herself back, never smiling fully, because a dark line ran along her gum under her top lip, a result of a metal core in the capped teeth.The day finally came when one of the caps broke yet again. She went to a dentist near her home in New Jersey, and not only were the teeth repositioned and capped poorly, she could no longer close her mouth properly without biting her lip. To top it off, a new crown on a molar broke within a year.That was the last straw. “I thought I’d have to make a choice,” Jackie says, “between aesthetics and the mechanical functioning of my mouth. I needed my mouth to close as it should. But I wanted my teeth to look nice, too.” Jackie says, “I did not want big white horsy teeth like you see on some people on TV.” What were overlooked in Jacqueline’s smile were the harmony of the smile line and the asymmetrical proportions of her teeth.  Also one of Jacqueline’s front teeth was in cross-bite with the bottom (lower tooth was overlapping the top tooth).  The other correction that had to be made was the dark corners of Jacqueline’s smile.  This situation happens in 2 circumstances: 1) dark silver fillings 2) teeth that are tipped inwards towards the palate as opposed to the cheek.  We were able to accomplish what Jacqueline desired in a few steps. 1st we had to correct the gum line to a a more symmetrical level.  2nd, the whole upper jaw was restored with a combination of porcelain laminates and crowns and onlays. By early January 2005 Jackie had a completely new smile, upper jaw and perfect bite…and natural-looking white teeth.“My dream came true,” she says. “I don’t feel like I have caps! I smile openly without hiding behind my hand. I used to feel very self-conscious, but no more.”