Dr. Tanner Townsend and Dr. Joshua Muir discuss the emotional impact of losing a front tooth and the common hesitations patients have in addressing it. They highlight the emotional distress patients experience, often delaying treatment due to the visible nature of the tooth. They note that male patients often worry about eating, while female patients and those with social events may focus on appearance. Despite financial concerns not being a major issue, life logistics often delay treatment. They emphasize the importance of providing immediate solutions, such as temporary crowns, to alleviate patients' fears and improve their quality of life.

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

Dr. Josh Muir 0:12 Hey guys

Dr. Tanner Townsend 0:13 And in this episode, we’re going to be talking a little bit about the gap you don’t talk about. And one of the things that I always find very interesting is that single implant patient, Dr Muir, that either has an abrupt issue with a front tooth or has a missing tooth they’ve had missing for a long time, and it’s just this emotionally sore topic oftentimes, and they often avoid it. Or when we see patients that have like this tooth that like is broken, or like gets shattered from like a baseball bat, or a kid hit him in the face, or a root canal is failing, and you go to the dentist and they’re like, you have to get this out now, and it’s like this emotional heartache that they go through, especially on that day. So, one of the questions I have for you, what usually happens when someone loses that one tooth that they’re attached to?

Dr. Josh Muir 1:07 Well, the biggest, you know, the biggest thing is people have that huge emotional response. And like you said, it can last for a long time. If they’ve known about it, they try to put it off. But as far as you know, what happens on that day? Typically, what happens is people will come to the office, and they’ll be an emotional wreck because of this catastrophe that’s led to their losing a front tooth. But we get them taken care of, and they do typically leave with a new tooth. Now, they may be in a temporary tooth. It may be in a transitional point during some healing, but to go from that catastrophic feeling to okay, this wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, that’s what we typically see.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 1:53 Yeah, and it’s truly amazing to go from broken situation to we’re going to end with a tooth, which is fantastic.

Dr. Josh Muir 2:03 I think that’s one of the reasons that people put this off, is that emotional response. So, you know, I have a patient that recently saw this is a lower front tooth, but there’s a clear fracture through the root. It’s vertical, it’s infected around there. There’s bone loss, and the response he gave was, so I don’t have to get this done right away, right? Because he just doesn’t want to get it done. It’s a front tooth now, meanwhile, he’s already missing some back teeth, and that really doesn’t bother him as much. But when it’s a front tooth, it it’s so visible, it’s so out there. So that’s why, that’s why people wait.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 2:42 So besides that, like the delay, delaying the inevitable. What are some things that people that have that gap come in with, like, when they’re in that catastrophic mentality? Like, what are some things that you can kind of tell they’re thinking through? Like, are they thinking through confidence? Things? Are they thinking through eating? Things? Are they thinking through being able to talk normally? What are you typically seeing in these patients?

Dr. Josh Muir 3:07 Yep, this is where we stereotype patients. So, you have someone that comes from a male patient, he’s going to be worried about his eating. You have a female patient; she’s probably going to be worried about her looks. If you have anyone who has a daughter that’s getting married or they’re getting married, they’re going to be worried about their looks. So those are the things they’re worried about. Patients also worry about pain. But to be honest, pain, typically with a missing front tooth, that’s not the biggest thing. Its life is the worry. It’s not the pain side or anything else like that.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 3:42 Yeah. And I think some of the hesitations that I see too, it’s not money on these cases, because they’re like, this is a front tooth. I must get this taken care of. It’s this life get in the way. This isn’t good timing. I must leave on my trip to Cancun in a week.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:02 Simply go to work

Dr. Tanner Townsend 4:04 Or simply, I’ve got to go back to work after this.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:07 Or talk to my talk to my son’s teacher. I need a front tooth to talk to my son’s teacher.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 4:12 Yeah. So those are the typical hesitations we see with the front tooth whether upper or the lower and so. But ultimately, I feel like the beauty of being able to take someone from fear and unknown to tooth in one day is incredible. And like you said, it’s a temporary solution. Oftentimes it’s not your final tooth that you’re going to have on that, and it’s not going to be perfect, necessarily, but it’s amazing of and to the point where people aren’t going to notice.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:45 Yeah, that’s, that’s one of my very favorite things. We get a call from a referring doctor. They say, hey, I’ve got a patient in the chair. They’re freaking out because their front tooth broke off. Can you guys take care of them? And in most cases, we get them in that same day. We’re. Take the tooth out, we put an implant in, we put a temporary crown on the implant, we let them go, and they feel good. They look good, emotionally, they feel so much better. And it’s a success story.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 5:14 Yeah, if that sounds at all familiar, come talk to us. We will get you on the schedule for a free consultation, and we will get you a solution that you can be proud of and a smile that you will not have to worry about. That is it for today’s episode of the Smile Reconstructed Podcast, and we will catch you on the next episode.

Dr. Josh Muir 5:32 Thanks.