Las Vegas veteran-turned-magician gets new smile after PTSD breaks his teeth

Retired U.S. Marine veteran-turned-magician John Hamilton knows the power of magic. During his performances at school assemblies across Clark County, he not only enjoys using his tricks to make students smile but also to talk about the importance of staying in school.

But when the Henderson resident broke his front teeth due to grinding — a result of his post-traumatic stress disorder — he lost his smile.

“When you’re a performer, your smile is everything,” he said.

In June, local dentists Rodolfo Barbosa and Michel Daccache, who is also an oral trauma specialist, helped fix his teeth and create what they call “a new smile in a day.”

Three days after the procedure, Hamilton sat in the front lobby of the dental office at 1701 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 520, waiting for his first checkup.

“We did some magic,” Daccache said to Hamilton. Though his mouth was still sore, Hamilton couldn’t help but flash a smile.

“I am overwhelmed,” he said. “I never expected something like this.”

Hamilton is a Vietnam War veteran and combat photographer. After coming back from the war, he dealt with PTSD.

“I would have nightmares,” he said.

Daccache said it is common for PTSD to cause teeth grinding, along with other dental problems.

“There are a lot of documented cases,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not given a lot of attention.”

He added that because there are other severe side effects associated with the condition, people often don’t think about dental health.

Hamilton carried on with his life after the war. He worked for a news station for years before deciding to pursue a lifelong passion in magic in the late ‘80s.

“I had always been a magician,” he said. “My mother encouraged me to look at other careers, which is how I got into photography.”

Hamilton, who moved to Las Vegas in 1993, also began performing his magic tricks for children. Growing up, he struggled with dyslexia, yet, he said he always had mentors in his corner encouraging him to persevere.

“So that’s what I want to do for these students,” he added.

His teeth began to wear down. Then one day while eating nuts, his front bridge broke off, leaving a gap when he smiled. Last year, Hamilton looked around to find a dentist, but the procedure he needed to replace his teeth was expensive.

He and his wife tried to fund the $50,000 procedure through a GoFundMe campaign but weren’t able to raise the money. He still kept his appointments as a magician.

“The show must go on,” Hamilton said.

While the tricks were the same, his heart wasn’t fully there because of his missing teeth. Hamilton felt a toothless mouth was distracting people from the magic tricks. His inability to chew also resulted in other health problems, such as malnutrition.

Hamilton needed help, which is when Daccache and Barbosa stepped in.

“He served our country,” Daccache said. “It’s the least we could do for him.”

The procedure requires the doctors to extract the teeth and then smooth down the bone. After the mouth is prepped, a replacement is implanted. Barbosa has to go back in a few months to complete the process.

After hearing Hamilton’s case, Daccache got in touch with the company that provides the implants.

“After they said they would donate the products, all we had to do was donate time,” he said.

It took about four hours to perform the surgery. “But the end result is a smile in a day,” Barbosa added. “We are happy with the results.”

In addition to the implants, Daccache said they will provide Hamilton with a mouth guard to help with the teeth grinding.

Hamilton can’t wait to return to performing and put his smile to good use.

“I can’t say thank you enough to these guys,” Hamilton said. “They gave me my confidence back.”

Visit hamiltonmagicman.com or call 702-750-9444.

To reach Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle, email mlyle@viewnews.com or call 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.