When The Doctors first met Lauren, she has been hiding her life-threatening bulimia from her family for 13 years. She bravely came forward and received treatment, but was left with the serious side-effects of her eating disorder - extremely damaged teeth.
We arranged for her to see the dental team of dentist Dr. Christian Yaste, dentist Dr.Eric Satterlee, and dentist Dr. Joseph Hufanda from Ballantyne Center for Dentistry who offered to give her a smile makeover.
Watch: Woman Teased for Her Teeth Undergoes a Complete Smile Makeover
Returning to the show, she tells us, “It’s a whole new me. Through treatment, I learned to love myself on the inside, but I looked in the mirror and I didn’t love who I was on the outside,” she says. “And through this transformation, I am who I was meant to be and supposed to be.”
She says she is now able to eat and drink whatever she wants without having to worry about her teeth breaking or crumbling. Dr. Hufanda explains that bulimia often destroys the structure of the tooth and for Lauren he says “an extreme route” was taken to create her new smile.
Watch: See Woman’s New Smile After Total Mouth Makeover
Lauren says her success in recovery is her support system and also “having a path” to follow for the times when she encounters a setback. She also stresses that knowing when to ask others for help has been “key." She also reveals to The Doctors that after 16 years of not having menstrual cycles – and worrying she might not be able to have kids – that her menstrual cycles have normalized.
Dr. Stork encourages anyone dealing with an eating disorder to contact the National Eating Disorder Association at 1-800-931-2237.
