Dr. Tanner Townsend and Dr. Josh Muir discuss the transformative impact of transitioning from dentures to implant-supported teeth. Dr. Muir shares a personal story about his father, who overcame decades of self-consciousness after dental treatment. They highlight common misconceptions, such as the immediacy of "teeth in a day" and the need for multiple follow-ups. Patients often experience increased confidence, happiness, and social interactions post-treatment. Dr. Muir emphasizes the importance of personalized consultations to address individual needs and goals, encouraging potential patients to take the first step towards improved oral health and self-esteem.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 0:05 Welcome back to the Smile Reconstruction Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Tanner Townsend, along with my co-host Dr. Josh Muir.

Dr. Josh Muir 0:11 Hi guys

Dr. Tanner Townsend 0:12 And today we’re going to talk a little bit about someone that’s dealt with dentures. And they finally said, I’ve had enough with that, and we’re going to see what their life looks like after they’ve gone to an implant solution. So Dr Muir, imagine we’ve got someone. They’ve been dealing with dentures for 10 plus years, and they finally decide to go the implant route, whether it’s for a snap-on denture or an all-on-four or a three-on-six? What do you think their life actually looks like six months later, after they’ve gotten their final teeth and all that?

Dr. Josh Muir 0:50 Yeah, great question, and this is, this is such a real scenario. I’ll share just a quick story about my dad. My dad had his teeth worked on, and I didn’t know this growing up, but he was always embarrassed about a certain thing about his teeth. Many years later, I went through dentistry and all of that, and we fixed it. And one of his neighbors said, Hey, what’s different about you? And they said, Did you whiten your teeth? No, did you know, they named a bunch of things, yeah. What it was, he was no longer self-conscious, and he smiled. And what I didn’t realize was, my dad never smiled in photos all growing up, but now, as I’m an adult and he’s a grandfather, he’s smiling, yeah, and that’s the difference. So here’s someone who, for how many years, 40 years, was self-conscious and then feels better about it now.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 1:51 Yeah, 100% the same way, they’re just everyone that we’ve done this larger treatment on, where we’ve moved them from dentures to implant-supported teeth, they are way more confident. They smile. They’re so much happier. It’s crazy. So when you first heard the term all-on-four and before you knew what it was, what did you picture? And I know this is kind of a tricky question for us, but what do you feel like patients’ picture?

Dr. Josh Muir 2:17 Yeah. I mean it means nothing.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 2:19 It means nothing

Dr. Josh Muir 2:20 I don’t think it means anything to anyone.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 2:22 Yeah, you have no reference of what it is. So when patients say, Hey, I want to go home with the same day teeth, they often hear, Oh, I’m going to get teeth in a day, or I’m going to get a full arch fixed, or ” What does that actually mean? Because I think that’s like, something we hear really often through consults, and it’s like, okay, well, but let’s talk through that and make sure everyone’s on the same understanding of what that means.

Dr. Josh Muir 2:47 The biggest misconception would be, when a patient thinks that all patients are created equally, everyone comes in with the same, you know, canvas and everyone leaves with the same painting. Is simply not true. The other thing is, as a big misconception, some patients will come into a consult, we’ll talk about it, and they’ll say, Okay, where are my teeth? It’s like, well, I’m only just meeting you for the first time five minutes ago. We don’t have your teeth right now, and so teeth in a day. What it means is, yeah, let’s meet. Let’s plan, let’s get some records. Let’s set up a surgical appointment, and by the time you leave that surgical appointment, you should have new teeth, or by the next, you know, the next morning, or something like that. So teeth in a day isn’t really teeth in a day in most cases, yeah. But what it means is, if we make the right plan, when we start the treatment, within about a day, you’re gonna have a new smile, yeah. And so in that respect, is very accurate, but patients don’t know that right as they go into it.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 3:59 Another common misconception I feel like patients get confused about is like, oh, once I get those teeth, then it’s all done. I don’t need to see you again. I can eat whatever I want. And it’s like, no, no, no, no. Like, we have to let those implants heal. We’re gonna, you know, make sure the bite is right, make sure that the implants heal. They don’t just, you don’t just put them in and they’re automatically there forever. They have to heal and fuse to the bone.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:27 And what, what patients need to understand, and what we explain is, we do start with a prototype.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 4:33 Yeah.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:34 You know, we want to make sure these teeth look right for you, feel right and function, right? Now sometimes we go from, we go from, you know, a mouth that has a lot of issues and crooked teeth and decayed and broken, and we go straight from there to something that actually does look really nice. Yeah, the prototype was very close to what it really should be, but I would. The majority of the time it’s close, but there are little, teeny tweaks we want to make, yeah, and so patients are sometimes surprised that, yeah, it is more than one appointment, because you deserve that. We could say, hey, it’s one and done. See you later, but you’re not the best outcome. Yeah, you know, it’s not a one size fits all. So I was telling you about that patient that in the consult, I told him, Well, you’re gonna, you’re gonna come back more than once. What? Why?

Dr. Tanner Townsend 5:33 Yeah

Dr. Josh Muir 5:34 Well, you deserve to come back. You deserve for us to check the healing you deserve. You deserve so much. You know, we want it to be right?

Dr. Tanner Townsend 5:45 Yeah, I think those are some excellent points. So let’s talk about like a patient that’s had this experience where they’ve gone from like a denture and gotten implants for either a snap in or screwed in fixed denture. What’s that moment that always sticks out to you, or a specific patient that sticks out to you when they got their teeth, you have a moment.

Dr. Josh Muir 6:07 What’s amazing is, patients will picture in their mind what they think is most important to them. For example, a patient will say, Man, I just can’t wait to eat steak again, for example, but then they get their teeth, they’re eating steak, and it is every bit as wonderful as they thought it would be. What they didn’t realize is that while they’re eating steak, they met a new friend, and now they’re social. They’re in relationships. They’re going out and being public with speaking and being around people, that is the aha moment, the surprise. And then the other thing, and this happens over half of the time, I would say, when we truly do a smile reconstruction, when people think, Oh, I can’t wait to have my teeth again, when they finally get to look in the mirror and they realize, oh my goodness, I didn’t realize I was getting me again. I look in the mirror, and I see me, not someone else. When patients say that, and it’s amazing how many say something very similar to that, I finally look like myself again. That’s the realization that’s just that’s so real for them, and it’s hard to even explain to someone that that’s going to happen until it clicks, yeah. And that’s also when the tears come for them, for us, and I mean, that’s what makes this so cool to be a part of, you know.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 7:47 So if you’ve got someone that’s sitting on the fence about feeling like themselves again, they want that feeling, and they might not even know they want that yet, or they want to be social again, what would you tell that person?

Dr. Josh Muir 8:01 Well, this is a similar answer to many similar questions. It’s like, Guys, you’ve got to take that first step. We can educate you. We can put videos, podcasts, blogs, and ads on the internet and on TV about what this is and what that is. But guys, you’ve got to take that first step to make it personal to you, because I can’t tell you what the perfect treatment for you is without seeing you. But guys, we’ve removed all the roadblocks. Come in and just visit with us. Yeah, it’s a no-pressure, no-sales tactics. It’s truly about taking a look and seeing what your situation is, with your anatomy, your bones, your health, and your desires and goals. We will come up with solutions for you, give you the pros and cons to those solutions, because every solution has a pro and a con, and then we let you make a decision that’s right for you, and whatever that is, we’ll support you in it, because we’ll, we’ve, we’ll have gone over the pros and cons. So if you’re on the fence about it, or if you’re leaning towards doing something, the trick is do something, yeah, even if it’s just starting with some education about truly what your situation is, and you do that by having a consult. And we include that CT scan so you can actually see what your bone is doing, and we can tell you truly what you’re a candidate for excellent.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 9:34 That was excellently said. Well, schedule your free consult with us today if you’re curious about that. If you’re on the fence about wanting to feel like yourself again and not knowing quite where to start, we can help point you in the right direction. Well, that is it for today’s episode of the smile reconstruction podcast. We thank you for joining us, and we will catch you in the next episode.