A smile tells it all

By Connie Mertz
For The Daily Item

August 19, 2008 08:00 am

— PART 2
Due to aggressive radiation treatments as a child, Troy Guffey, 38, not only lost his permanent teeth but also suffered bone and gum loss. Told nothing more could be done for her husband, his wife was determined to find a way. The following is the last in a two-part series.


The trouble for Troy Guffey, 38, of Danville, started when he was born. First he an Rh-factor baby (see sidebar). When he was 12 hours old, he had a complete blood transfusion. When he was 22 months old, he was diagnosed with eye cancer and was treated with chemotherapy and radiation.
In 2004, his teeth began to fall out and it was discovered that his teeth had no root system, or at least a non-uniform one. The only thing holding his teeth in place were nerves and gums.
By 2007, he was in serious pain. His teeth were removed in the hope that by doing that, his bone would regenerate and dentures could be used.
But denture after denture proved useless. The pain worsened.
Another surgery was done, cutting into Troy’s gums and filing smooth the ridge line. But it didn’t work. Dentures would not be an option.
Finally, after months of continuous Internet searching, Troy’s wife Paulette connected with Peggy Dolan of the Kelly Anne Dolan Foundation in Amber.
“I know where you can go,” Dolan told her and then gave her the answer Paulette had been looking for: Dr. Thomas Balshi at the Pi Dental Center at the Institute for Facial Esthetics in Fort Washington.
The institute is reported to be the nation’s leading dental implant treatment and research center, and Dr. Balshi was interested in Troy’s case.
“I wanted a guarantee this would work,” Troy said. He had already been through enough suffering, enough disappointment.

‘No Bone Solution’
“Troy was really an oral invalid,” Dr. Balshi said recalling Troy’s initial condition. “The high dosage of radiation affected the development of the jaws and his teeth. This condition ultimately leads to bone and tooth loss.”
On Feb. 11, Troy received, among other medical tests, something called an i-CAT Cone Beam CT scan. It’s a state-of-the-art testing procedure that is three-dimensional. Using the computer-generated data, Dr. Balshi was able to precisely plan the position of implants in the upper jaw — including special implants called Zygoma implants which anchor high in the cheekbones.
This avoids any need for bone grafting in the sinuses.
The planning has to be exact, the surgical technique precise because working this high in the cheeks, there is a risk of injuring the eye.
Dr. Balshi calls the procedure the “No Bone Solution.” There was very little bone remaining in Troy’s upper jaw.
All the technology for Troy’s upcoming implant surgery was computer-generated. Once the plan was completed, data files were e-mailed to Gothenburg, Sweden, where a surgical template was made.
“When (the template) returned to our center, technicians used the template to build a replica of Troy’s jaw — with an implant in place,” Dr. Balshi explained.

‘Teeth in an hour’
The surgery itself is referred to as “Teeth in an Hour.”
With Troy under local anesthesia, Dr. Balshi positioned the template in place and installed the special Zygoma implants.
It’s surprisingly a very simple procedure to undergo, according to Dr. Balshi.
Helping make the procedure simple and fairly quick — about an hour — is an i-CAT scan and something called Nobel Biocare Procera Planning Software. The technology was first made available a few years ago but it’s still so innovative that a segment of Troy’s “Teeth in an Hour” surgery was featured on “The Today Show” this spring.
While similar treatments have been done which mimic Troy’s surgery, Dr. Balshi said that none of the prior patients were childhood cancer survivors.
“Troy Guffey was the first patient who had extensive radiation treatment during his growth years that caused the loss of his teeth and the diminished size of his jawbone,” he said.

And now...
Months after his implant surgery, Troy’s smile tells it all.
“Dr. Balshi changed my life. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for him.”
Dr. Balshi is equally satisfied. “Troy’s end result is absolutely fantastic. He has superb stability and function. He can taste his food again because there is no material covering the roof of his mouth. He was able to undergo the entire reconstruction in less than an hour and did not require extensive bone grafting.”
Paulette added with gratitude, “If anyone is having problems like Troy did, I want them to know there is help out there. Dr. Balshi truly did change our lives.”

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