Episode Transcript
Welcome to Trust Your Teeth, a podcast by KYT Dental Services.
In our True Case series, we follow real people through real dental challenges, to show you what’s possible when you finally get the right answer.
Today’s story is about someone who ignored a missing tooth for years... and paid the price.
Meet Larry.
Years ago, he lost his two front teeth in an accident.
He was young, and back then, all he wanted was something fast and easy.
So he got a Maryland bridge.
Now, a Maryland bridge is a type of dental bridge that uses small metal wings bonded to the back of the neighboring teeth.
It’s a conservative option.
It doesn’t require shaving the teeth down like a traditional bridge.
But it has problems.
Over time, Larry’s Maryland bridge started falling out.
Over and over.
He couldn’t eat right.
He couldn’t speak clearly.
And he started getting frustrated.
He didn’t want to get a traditional bridge,
Because that would mean damaging his two neighboring teeth,
Which were still healthy.
He wanted a better solution.
A long-term one.
So he came to us.
And when we looked at his case,
We saw that fixing it wouldn’t be simple.
The first problem?
There wasn’t enough space.
His teeth had drifted over the years.
And in order to place implants,
There needs to be a certain amount of room between each implant and the natural teeth.
Otherwise, the implant may fail to integrate properly or it could damage the nearby teeth over time.
So we had to move his teeth first.
That meant orthodontics to recreate the space that had been lost.
Then came the second challenge:
Bone loss.
Because Larry had been missing those teeth for so long,
The bone in that area had resorbed.
It had shrunk.
There wasn’t enough structure to hold an implant securely.
So we had to rebuild it.
That meant bone grafting
To add volume and strength back into the area.
Only after creating the space,
And restoring the foundation,
Could we finally place the implants.
And after the healing,
He received the crowns.
Two strong, natural-looking teeth fixed in place.
It was a long journey.
Not cheap.
Not quick.
But Larry was committed.
He knew he didn’t want a shortcut.
Because he didn’t want to make another decision his future self would regret.
And the truth is,
He made the right call.
Because if he had tried to fix it the easy way,
Another bridge,
Another temporary fix,
It would’ve cost him more down the line.
More bone loss.
More tooth movement.
More regret.
Instead, he chose the solution that protected the rest of his smile.
In the next episode, part of our Essentials series,
We break down bone resorption.
What happens to your jawbone when a tooth goes missing?
Why does it shrink over time?
And how does that impact your future options, especially implants or dentures?
If you’ve ever lost a tooth or know someone who has,
This is the episode you’ll want to hear.
Because trusting your teeth...
Starts with knowing the truth.
