Studies show the simple act of smiling can boost your spirits. But for some people smiling is an embarassment thanks to damaged, yellow teeth.

That’s something On Your Side Anchor Roland Beres faced for a while now, in a business where his smile is his calling card. And when Journal Broadcasting worked out an agreement with Cottonwood Creek Dental to cover all expenses to fix his smile in exchange for advertising time, he never realized just how life changing it would be.

This is his story of discovery. When you work in TV, your image is everywhere. But when your teeth are yellow and damaged, your smile can disappear.

“Over time, it gets smaller and smaller and smaller and pretty soon, you smile and go I can’t see my teeth. That’s usually when people come see me and say I need my smile fixed.” explains Dr. Michael Dolby.

“It got so bad for me,” says Beres, “I was the only on your side anchor not smiling in his web photo.”

“Study after study will show your smile is the first thing people see.” says Dolby, “It actually supersedes your eyes”

“With that in mind,” says Beres, “I embarked on a major change.

“The key is, what we want to do as a cosmetic dentist is to make your smile seamless” says Dolby. The process starts with pictures, concentrated whitening to determine color, and molds that will allow the creation of temporary teeth.

A week later, Dr. Dolby numbs Beres up and reduces each tooth to a narrow tab that will accept the finished veneers. He makes another mold, and then glues the temporary teeth in place.

“It gives us a way to test drive these because once they’re bonded in at the last appointment, they’re not coming off.” says Dolby.

The molds of Beres’ filed down teeth are sent to a dental lab where mike veltrop uses amazing 3-D technology to create works of art.

“A lot of it has gone digital,” says Mike Veltrop of Eagle Dental Design, “The impressions get scanned or models get scanned and you can do a lot of the work on the computer.”

Then each tooth replacement is formed and customized by hand.

“You can design things pretty well in the computer,” says Veltrop, “but you still have to take it to the bench for final contouring.”

Realistic coloring is also added for that seamless touch.

“Cosmetic dentistry is more art than dentistry.” says Dolby, “There’s so much that goes into the design of the tooth. The shape of the face, personality and obviously, the color and form and so forth and your bite. So a lot of stuff goes into this, not just something you stick on a tooth.”

Then it’s time to put the final prosthetics in place. Thanks to 3-D technology, the fit is exact and the veneers are bonded in place. The result is literally life changing.

“It’s like if you took someone who was heavy and they lost a lot of weight,” says Dolby, “they’ll feel better about themselves so when they walk into the room they have more confidence. They’ll dress differently, have a jump in their step. It’s crazy. It’s just thin porcelain, but it’s your smile!”

“Now the only thing left to do,” says Beres, “is get rid of this old photo on the On Your Side website.”