FOCUS ON HEALTH:

The bar is set pretty high as far as appearance goes in this town. Newport Beach has more than it’s share of tanned, toned bodies and bright, white smiles.

Three Newport Beach professionals — Kate Sahafi, George Brennan and certified personal trainer Susan Tobiessen — will share the newest trends in dentistry, cosmetic surgery and fitness at a lecture at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach next week.

But while all three realize the services they offer clients improve an individual’s appearance, their emphasis is on helping people feel better about themselves from the inside out. Many times, that requires fixing the outside first.

Michelle Mullen, patient coordinator for Sahafi, is a physical therapy patient at Body Design at Fashion Island, owned by Tobiessen. She had her broken nose fixed by Brennan after a skiing accident several years ago.

Mullen said it was her idea to bring Sahafi, Brennan and Tobiessen together.

“I think it’s good to make the public aware of who is available to them in their community, and what their specialties are. To educate [people] about what’s available in Newport Beach. I think [we have] the best of the best.”

Tobiessen’s presentation will focus on how exercise helps keep people young, healthy, vital and living a quality life as they mature.

Her clients Bea Edwards, 95, and Rose Tarin, 92, are proof that regular exercise can help reverse the aging clock. Both women came in using walkers, and now work out with weights, do Pilates and use specialized, Gyrotonic equipment the center purchased three years ago.

“The equipment moves the body and spine three-dimensionally,” Tobiessen said. It uses a circular, twisting motion that increases joint mobility and range of motion. “By elongating and strengthening muscle tissue, you strengthen the muscles and the body to move in that direction, so you’ll injure yourself less.”

Brennan, a cosmetic surgeon, said what makes the field of plastic surgery so unique is that it’s helping patients lead a better quality of life.

In other fields, surgery is used to treat disease and injury, getting patients back to where they used to be, but not necessarily making them better, Brennan said. That’s why they come to him.

“Patients say, ‘This is what God gave me, and I want you to do better.’ The beauty of the field is that we do better.”

Whether it’s rhinoplasty to reduce a larger-than-average-sized nose, fixing protruding ears on a child who has been picked on at school, or reconstructing a chin or repairing skin that has been damaged by the sun, Brennan said cosmetic surgery is an effective way to boost people’s self esteem.

“It’s very gratifying to watch them leave happy and know you’ve made a tremendous impact on a person’s life.”

For Sahafi, nothing is more important than being able to help people smile. Customizing treatment options for each individual client is part of the “smile design” process she has developed.

The newest techniques available include using all porcelain veneers, which create a stronger, more natural look. In fact, many factors need to be considered, Sahafi said, before she begins treatment.

“I look at a patient’s face, their features, hair and skin color,” she said, to determine the right look for that patient.

Many people grind and then chip their teeth, Sahafi said, resulting in wrinkles around the mouth. By applying veneers to the teeth, Sahafi said she can “open the bite,” widening a patient’s mouth, which causes wrinkles to disappear.

Sahafi called it “an instant face lift.”

“It’s so important for people to be able to smile.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: New Trends for 2008 lecture featuring Newport Beach medical professionals

WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 24

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 1107 Jamboree Road

COST: Free; cocktails and appetizers will be served

INFO: Call (949) 548-0966

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.