Keeping smiles bright

For denturist Vahid Danaei, making people smile is not only his vocation, it’s his passion.

"I don’t want to be someone who just does a regular practice," said Danaei, a licensed denturist with the Regent Denture Clinic and Implant Centre (551 Regent Ave. W). "I always wanted to do something extra. That’s going to make myself proud, that I’ve done something, that I could help someone. When people smile, I smile."

In 2011, Danaei began working on a new denture system that allows patients to "look younger" without plastic surgery. Earlier this year, Regent Smiles Inc., the research company Danaei founded, was granted patent pending status for Danaei’s "anti-aging denture facelift system."

"Most people don’t want to go through surgeries, so in order to avoid that, this system will help to get to that point getting rid of facial defects without any surgery," Danaei said.

So far, Regent Denture Clinic is the only clinic in Manitoba to offer the system, but Danaei is hopeful other clinics across Canada, the U.S., and Europe will start offering the service to their patients.

"It looks fantastic," Danaei said. "People are happy with them, especially the ladies."

When Danaei was developing the system, his first patient was his father-in-law.

"I was practising on him to see how the system was going to work," he said.

According to Danaei, a proprietary "impression, bite registration and set up" procedure produces a fit that helps smooth wrinkles by providing improved lip and cheek support.

"We have more precision instruments and materials to get the details we need," he said.  "It’s a huge project, over seven years of work. I’m excited to get that out there."

Regent Denture Clinic is also in on the ground floor providing a microchip denture implant, which stores vital information, and scanner system. While microchip technology itself is not necessarily a new development, Danaei hopes that the non-invasive nature of the denture implant system he has invented will hold some appeal.

"Microchips have been around for years, but people did not ask for them," Danaei said. "Nobody wants a strange object inside your body."

The microchip denture implant technology can be added to any prosthetic offered by the clinic. Information is loaded onto the chip, which can be scanned by other medical professionals who decide to make use of the technology.

Danaei believes the microchip can be of great use to older patients, particularly those who are experiencing memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.

"Say, if by accident something happens, medical professionals can scan the chip and they can have access to your information right away," Danaei said. "That’s the goal."

Visit www.regentdentureclinic.ca or call 204-224-8800 for more information.