A NEW SMILE HELPS TO REBUILD THE LIFE OF AN EASTON WOMAN

Philadelphia Inquirer

(c) 1996 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. All rts. reserv.

02021013 A NEW SMILE HELPS TO REBUILD THE LIFE OF AN EASTON 
WOMAN PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER (PI) - THURSDAY April 21, 1983 By: 
Associated Press Edition: NEW JERSEY  Section: LOCAL  Page: B12 
Word Count: 683

TEXT: What  people remember most about Vanessa Durns is her smile, a 
smile with a cover-girl symmetry.

   Her  smile  was not a natural gift. It was carefully sculpted five years ago 
in the operating room of Easton Hospital during six hours of surgery.

   That  surgery  removed a slice of Ms. Durn's upper jaw so her face would 
not  be so long, moved her lower jaw forward to give her a more 
symmetrical profile and reshaped her upper jaw to give her teeth a better 
alignment.

    The  operation,  a  procedure known as orthognathic surgery, is as much 
reconstructive  as cosmetic. This method has transformed the appearance 
and the oral function - not to mention the self-esteem - of thousand of men 
and women across the United States.

   It is also transforming the practice of orthodontics, which is beginning to 
turn more to surgery to correct severe oral problems.

   "Some  think  the  procedure is a drastic approach," said Dr. Anthony F. 
DeBerardinis, an orthodonist at Easton Hospital, during a recent interview, 
"but the surgical approach takes only one or two years instead of the three 
to five years with just braces."

   Any  many  times,  he  added, simply shifting the alignment of the teeth 
does  not  solve a patient's problem. In some instances, the skeletal frame 
must also be moved.

   Until she received treatment five years ago from Dr. Alan Dutkin and Dr. 
Steven  Gould, oral surgeons in Northampton County, Ms. Durns, 30, had 
been cursed  with the nickname "Bucky." And that was one of the kinder 
comments, she said.

   She  had  a  long,  bony face and a swept-back chin. Her overbite was so 
severe that the flesh of her upper lip was insufficient to cover her teeth. And 
the teeth of her upper jaw stuck out.
   Her  appearance  was  only  part  of the problem. The angle of her front 
teeth  made them useless for biting into food. Chewing was so difficult she 
often had to swallow food whole.

   Not surprisingly, Ms. Durns' self-esteem suffered. When someone 
canceled a  date with her, she immediately assumed it was because of her 
appearance. And  she  never  accepted dinner invitations because of her 
difficulty with eating.

   Ms.  Durns  assumed  that her situation was hopeless until her boss told 
her about an article he had read on oral surgery.

   She  got  in  contact  with  Dutkin  and Gould. Other oral surgeons have 
performed  the  same operations, but Dutkin and Gould, who have appeared 
on local television shows promoting their skill, are talkative enthusiasts who 
present their medical opinions with the determination of a a sales pitch.

   To prepare for the surgery, the two doctors perform a trial operation on a  
plaster mold of the patient's mouth to ensure that moving the jaw bone a 
centimeter or two will produce the desired results.

   "If  there's  anything  painful,  I  don't  want  to go through with the 
operation,"  Ms.  Durns  said  on  her  first visit to Dutkin's and Gould's 
office.

   They  showed her an album they keep in their conference room of 
"before" and  "after"  photographs  of  patients,  and  they outlined what she 
could expect during her five-day stay in the hospital.

   They  also  warned  her about the necessity of wiring her jaw shut for a 
six  week recuperation period and how the follow-up treatment would involve 
wearing braces on her teeth for perhaps a year.

   But  they  also  stressed  that  the  surgery, done on the inside of the 
mouth, left no visible scars.

   Several  months after her operation, Ms. Durns attended a meeting of the 
YMCA Art Club, where she was a member, and no one recognized her.

   In 1980, Ms. Durns and her boyfriend attended her 10th high school class 
reunion.  Former  classmates read her name tag, looked at her face and 
told her, "The name is familiar, but not the face." Others said, "My, how 
you've changed."  She got a job soon after the operation with an automotive 
supply dealer, dealing with customers and going out on sales calls.
   Ms.  Durns  said,  "I  don't think I would have done something like that 
before."

DESCRIPTORS:  MEDICINE