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From: k_ren@webtv.net(KarenýSakuma) Date: Wed, Feb 23, 2005, 6:38pm (PDT-1) To: k_ren@webtv.net Subject: PRAISES FOR MY DENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS & HYPNOTHERAPIST
Imagine....a fear of the dentist so strong that it kept you from visiting one for over two decades. Imagine the condition of your teeth from those long years of neglect. Now...imagine making a friend in the dental industry who sensed your extreme fearfulness and in the course of your friendship gently urged you to get some help. And imagine your "relief" when you finally did.
Thus was the condition I found myself when I first met Ferrydon Davar, a European trained Dental Technician and Master Ceramist from Iran who became a dear friend.
Now...getting ME into the dentist's chair was no easy task. For someone who'd had a traumatic childhood dental experience this was my own personal "Fear Factor". I'd do just about anything rather than go to the dentist! But I (sigh) knew I needed help so I let my friend talk me into at least "entertaining" the idea of seeing a dentist. And he just "happened to know" the perfect dentist who would allay all my dental fears...his good friend and colleague Dr. Eric Yabu of Oakland, CA.
But before I would even dare to reveal my years of embarrassing oral neglect to anyone, I knew that I first needed to get some assistance with my fear of dentists. I had heard testimonials of people who had had success with hypnotherapy and so I sought the services of Emily Baumbach, a Certified Hypnotherapist in San Rafael, CA. Emily patiently worked with me in several sessions and created a personal tape recording that I would play every evening before sleeping.
Hypnotherapy does, indeed, work and I found myself making.....and more importantly "keeping" my first dental appointment in more than 20 years.
Dr. Eric Yabu is a soft-spoken, very gentle dentist with a soothing chairside manner and a very light touch. His staff mirrors the tone he sets in his office, unfailingly polite, friendly, respectful, competent and professional. Eric keeps up with all the latest technological and scientific advances of his industry and is constantly increasing his skill level to better serve his patients as well as his own personal code of professional excellence. He quickly gained my shaky confidence with his kind, empathic manner and unassuming expertise. And with all that he's just a really nice guy too.
In his professional capacity, my friend Ferrydon Davar is an artist, sculptor and craftsman as well as being a skilled Dental Technician and Master Ceramist. Ferrydon's work could be considered "living art". Creation and design of this calibre which becomes a working part of a person's anatomy requires of dentist and technician an almost instinctual knowledge of anatonomical architecture and structural engineering. Ferrydon incorporates all of these factors when designing a patient's teeth. His artistry at creating beautiful natural looking teeth is phenomenal. Viewing examples of Ferry's "dental artwork" and the opportunity to watch him create it also gave me hope and confidence.
It was decided between Eric and Ferrydon that I was a candidate for full-mouth reconstruction.....my teeth being the condition they were in and the fact that genetically I was not fortunate. It was for Eric to "revise and repair" and Ferrydon to "design and devise". Over the course of two years it took many sessions and much consultation before I was even "ready" for my oral "extreme makeover".
But the day came.... after countless hours for Ferrydon in the lab....hours and hours for Eric getting me healthy and ready for my new teeth....and me...doggedly adhering to Eric and Ferry's stringent oral hygiene regimen....I was finally ready.
And the result from this odyssey? For starters...healthy teeth and gums for the first time in my life, the clearing up of other lifelong health issues stemming from unattended teeth, overcoming my childhood dental trauma and.....most delightfully for me...a smile worthy of any star walking the Red Carpet in Hollywood. Who says you can't turn back the clock? Who says you can't overcome lifelong fear? Not me! My new motto these days? "Change your Smile, Change your Life!"
out of 
