This is the story of Deborah Foster, a very shy, unassuming, mother of four and grandmother of five. Originally from Ohio, she now lives and works in the small rural town of Warsaw, New York, as a silk screener of sports team uniforms in a nearby factory. One fateful day, Deborah’s long time friend, Michelle, happened to see a spot on TV promoting a Mother’s Day Smile Makeover Contest, co-sponsored by Channel 2 (WGRZ TV) and Westermeier Martin Dental Care of East Aurora. Knowing how painfully embarrassed Deborah was about her smile, Michelle encouraged her best friend to enter. However desperately Deborah wanted to fix her smile, she initially told Michelle “no”, chiefly because of her fear of dentists. But Michelle, being a good friend, saw beyond the “no” and knew just what she had to do! First, she needed to get a close up picture of Deborah’s smile, which would be no easy trick Her friend rarely smiled, and even if she did, would quickly cover up her mouth with her hand as to not embarrass herself and “gross out” her friends (her words). Secondly, the entries had to be submitted via email with a story of why she felt she deserved to win the makeover. Deborah did not have a computer. Once again Michelle came to the rescue, not only helping Deborah write the letter, but submitting the necessary items from her own computer.

Meanwhile, back at Westermeier Martin Dental, Maria Miecyjak, Practice Administrator, poured over the one hundred and twenty plus deserving entries, looking for that one special mom to be chosen for the grand prize. “I really thought it would be fun, choosing one person to grant this special prize to. But it ended up being so hard, there were so many deserving moms.”, explains Maria. “I gathered up the top ten candidates and met with both Drs. Scott Westermeier and Jeff Martin. We agonized over these entries for several days. Finally after much deliberation and discussion, we chose Deborah “ .

On April 26th, Maria and the photographer set out to Warsaw to notify their winner. When they arrived at Deborah’s apartment building, they snuck up the stairs with flowers and balloons to surprise her, all the while hoping she’d be at home! Maria knocked on the door, and after what seemed an eternity, our contest winner opened the door. “Deborah Foster? Congratulations! You’re our Grand prize smile makeover winner!” Maria announced. At first disbelief, then sheer delight, Deborah screamed in excitement all the while exclaiming “I won! I won! I can’t believe it, I’ve never won anything in my life!!”

On the limousine ride to the dental office, Maria explained all the prizes Deborah had won: limousine services courtesy of Absolute Limousine, a hair & makeover treatment at Cielo Salon, a luxurious spa treatment from Eros Day Spa, plus a weekend for two with dinner and champagne at the charming, historic Roycroft Inn, all of East Aurora . Upon arrival at Westermeier Martin Dental Care, the staff greeted Deborah with excitement and open arms, and she met the team of dental professionals that would transform her smile. Dr. Jeff Martin, lead dentist for Deborah’s makeover transformation explained, “The first visit was to evaluate Deborah’s mouth and develop a treatment plan she would be comfortable with. She told us she was very anxious about dentistry, so we planned to do most of the major treatment while she was sedated and comfortable”. On the big day, Deborah arrived at the dental office feeling very relaxed and drowsy. “I was really scared at first”, said Deborah, “I hadn’t been to a dentist in many years because of my fear, but the day of surgery I took two little blue pills right as I left home, and had a friend drive me to the dental office. That’s the last thing I remember. The next thing I knew, I woke up the next morning with brand new teeth! I just stood there…for at least ten minutes, looking at myself in the mirror… I couldn’t believe that was me with that beautiful new smile. And most importantly, no discomfort at all!”

Deborah was picked up for her Western York Living Show debut on WGRZ- TV the very next day after her surgery. Her first stop was at the Cielo Salon for her new hairstyle and makeup. Once she arrived at the dental office, the staff just couldn’t get over her transformation. Not only her new smile, hair do and makeup, but her bubbly new personality -just beaming with self-confidence. She kept putting her hand to her mouth while smiling, then remembered she didn’t have to do this anymore!

Explains Dr. Scott Westermeier, “This is one of the ways we give back to the community. This year we are celebrating 75 years of service to Western New York. My grandfather and father created a caring, professional foundation for my partner Jeff and I. The best part of what we do, is when we first show our patients their beautiful new Westermeier Martin smiles. The hugs and kisses and more often than not, the tears of joy that follow are a huge payback and the favorite part of our day!”

As for Deborah, she couldn’t agree more. As if on cue, she offers “I promise you, you’re gonna love your Westermeier Martin smile”!

To see more about Deborah Foster’s makeover journey go to www.wmsmile.com and click on “Mother’s Day Makeover Winner” on the home page.

To learn more about Westermeier Martin Dental Care and all the latest in dental procedures, attend their up coming informational “Implant Seminar” on June 17th from 6-7pm. Learn about all the different options available today for replacing missing teeth, meet the doctors and the team, speak with actual implant patients.

Visit their website at www.wmsmile.com, or call their office at 652-7645 to register.