When he came to ELEV8, he wasn’t seeking a major transformation. What happened next unfolded almost by chance. During his appointment, Dr. Rashad created a simple composite mock-up, just a quick demonstration of what closing the gap could look like. When Cody stood up, looked in the mirror, and saw himself without the gap for the first time in decades, he was stunned. Not because he had been unhappy before, but because he didn’t know how different he could feel.

It took only two or three more visits, spaced over a few months, to finalize the work. And with each appointment, something deeper shifted, not just in his smile, but in the way he saw himself. What surprised Cody most was the reaction from the people around him. Friends, colleagues, strangers, everyone perceived him differently. He wasn’t expecting that. He describes it as learning how to inhabit a “new version” of how the world now sees him.

When he came to ELEV8, he wasn’t seeking a major transformation. What happened next unfolded almost by chance. During his appointment, Dr. Rashad created a simple composite mock-up, just a quick demonstration of what closing the gap could look like. When Cody stood up, looked in the mirror, and saw himself without the gap for the first time in decades, he was stunned. Not because he had been unhappy before, but because he didn’t know how different he could feel.

It took only two or three more visits, spaced over a few months, to finalize the work. And with each appointment, something deeper shifted, not just in his smile, but in the way he saw himself. What surprised Cody most was the reaction from the people around him. Friends, colleagues, strangers, everyone perceived him differently. He wasn’t expecting that. He describes it as learning how to inhabit a “new version” of how the world now sees him.

For most of his life, Cody never thought much about the gap in his front teeth. After years in the military, through transitions, relocations, and phases of reinvention, the gap became part of him. He didn’t dislike it. It was just there.