On this episode of the Smile Reconstruction Podcast, Dr. Tanner Townsend and Dr. Josh Muir discuss their office's sponsorship of Devin, Dr Muir's dental treatment, highlighting Devin's community contributions and outdoor lifestyle. Devin's treatment plan includes an overdenture, which allows for easy cleaning and potential future upgrades. The process involves initial records, implant placement, and multiple adjustments to ensure a proper fit. Devin's medical condition, which involves high acid exposure, necessitates this approach. Local businesses and fundraisers have supported Devin's treatment, reflecting his positive impact on the community. Dr. Muir and Dr. Townsend look for every opportunity of giving back to those in need by being a part of community service initiatives.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 0:05 One of the things that we’re doing at our office right now is we’re sponsoring a gentleman that is going to get some treatment done in preparation for some things that he’s got going on in the future. Tell us a little bit about Devin, Dr. Muir and kind of what we’re doing there.

Dr. Josh Muir 0:18 Yeah, so I was approached by some of Devin’s friends, and they came to me and said, Hey, we’ve got a great guy. He does a lot for the community. He does a lot for the outdoors world, and he needs some dental help. Would you work with us and help him get the treatment he needs? And you know, helping someone in need is one of the great things about what we do, and he fits everything we’re looking for with someone that’s actively involved in the community, someone that is a giver and not a taker. And so I was really excited to work with him.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 0:58 Yeah, I agree with you. I think when you approached me about this opportunity for our office to kind of sponsor his dental treatment, I thought it was a great opportunity, because we’re able to give back to the community, in a sense, because he gives so much the community himself. So that’s one of our goals at Montana Center for Implants and Dentures, is to really help the community out, help the people out when they need the help. As you started his treatment, Dr. Muir, what has been some of the rewarding experiences that you’ve experienced so far with Devin?

Dr. Josh Muir 1:29 Well, I had the opportunity to meet with some of his family as well.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 1:32 Nice.

Dr. Josh Muir 1:33 And you know, the first thing really, is just gratitude. I mean, Devin, immediately, just so grateful for the opportunity to have this smile makeover and, you know, improve that quality of life that he’s been missing for years. Yeah, what’s been neat too, is that there are a number of local businesses that know about Devin and have offered some support to help him get his treatment done. So there have been local fundraisers for him. There have been a number of sponsors for him, and a number of donations made to help him get this completed. I think when, when all of that can happen without him requesting it, that shows the caliber of person that we’re that we’re talking about and dealing with here,

Dr. Tanner Townsend 2:20 Totally I think it really shows that he’s a good dude and really trying to help the community out. So tell us about your plan. What is your plan for his treatment, for his smile makeover, as we’re kind of approaching his treatment date?

Dr. Josh Muir 2:33 So Devin is someone that spends a lot of time in the outdoors, and so for him, it was really important for him in the outdoors to be able to maintain and clean his teeth. The tricky part about Devon’s treatment was was really to find the right treatment for him. We know that an All-On-4 treatment is often the nicest, most natural route to go, but for him, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep it clean when he’s out in the wilderness, and just, you know, remember, he’s out, he spends multiple weeks at a time in the outdoors, in remote places, and so it was important for him to be able to maintain everything with his medical condition. It also needed to be something that can withstand a lot of a lot of vomiting and and acid, constantly exposing that those teeth constantly get exposed to. So after we talked about a lot of different options, the best option for him was something removable. And so we talked about a regular denture, to be honest, he would have been okay with that. He would have accepted that as a treatment. But we know the benefits of incorporating dental implants with that, and so we’re going to be doing an overdenture, you know, also called a Snap-In-Denture, and that’s the right treatment for him, because it’s something that can allow him to allow him to speak, allow him to smile, but he can take it out and clean it. If he’s going to be doing something that might damage it, he can take it out and put it in his pocket. And so it’s a it’s a safe option for him. And what was neat too, is I said, Look, Devin, give this option a try, and if you change your mind later and realize, you know what, I actually think I want something that stays in all the time, we can do this in such a way that it’s upgradable later, so you can transition into something that’s more permanent or stays in your mouth all the time. And so he was, he was pretty excited about the treatment we’re doing with that snap-in-denture, but, you know, pretty cool that later, if he chooses, he can upgrade that to another option.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 4:46 Well, walk us through the steps then of what Devin can expect as he’s coming up and as he gets his implants and teeth taken out, and to the point where he gets that Snap-In-Denture and it’s snapping in and it’s working for him.

Dr. Josh Muir 4:59 Yeah. So the first appointment with this is always a records appointment. We take photos, we do facial scans, we do intra oral scans, we do a CT scan. We evaluate the bone, we evaluate his smile line, making sure everything looks right. And then from that, we make an initial denture. We make a surgical guide that helps us place the implants in precise locations. Then his next appointment, we take the teeth out, we put the implants in, we do some bone grafting, and we deliver his first set of new teeth. That first set of new teeth is a traditional denture. He’ll wear that traditional denture during his healing period, and during that time, we’ll see him multiple times. We’ll make revisions to that because, to be honest, that first entry, it’s not something he can try in before we take his natural teeth out. I mean, it’s, it’s really something that’s tricky. We cross our fingers a little bit hoping that, Okay, this looks good in all of the planning, but is it going to look good in your mouth? All right? Take the teeth out, put it in smile. Okay, we nailed it. But you know, there are times where we need to tweak it as well. So we’ll do that a number of times during the healing until we get it just right. Once everything is healed and we get the shape and fit and all of that just right, then we put the special snaps onto his implants, and we connect the snaps to his denture. The cool thing is, when we get to that point, he sees that improvement immediately. It’s not something that he has to use for a while, and then he starts to notice the difference. It’s a difference immediately, you know his he can smile, his denture will be stable, he can chew, he can do all of the things that he really has been discouraged about for years.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 6:51 So those are kind of the steps that we go through when we have someone that’s moving towards a Snap-In-Denture, which is amazing. But let’s talk a little bit about his condition in particular, which we see a number of patients that kind of need a denture or fixed or a snap in denture, that have his condition. Explain to us a little bit about his condition and why we’re trending this direction.

Dr. Josh Muir 7:12 Yeah. So Devin has a condition that deteriorates his teeth, really on a daily basis. This condition causes him to vomit every single day, and that’s been going on for over eight years. So that high acid constantly coating the teeth really starts to break them down. And as the teeth break down and get weaker, it causes more cavities, and from there, the teeth start to crumble and break, and so those are all things that he’s run into, and the pain that goes with it as well. And so it’s been really neat to discuss with him options to overcome some of that.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 7:54 Well, being able to do this for Devin, how does that make you feel about being able to give back to him, but also the community.

Dr. Josh Muir 8:00 Yeah, you know, I really appreciate you asking that, because this is something that really warms the heart. You know, we talked earlier about his family being so grateful. We talked about him being so grateful. We talked about these businesses, these local businesses, that are raising funds to support his treatment and how grateful they are, but really we have potentially the most gratitude because we get to be a part of something that’s awesome. We get to do something for someone that they can’t do themselves. And really I don’t think there’s anything better we could be involved in than that.

Dr. Tanner Townsend 8:40 Why do you feel like this is something that we should be doing in our community, going forward, past Devon’s case, and moving on to future cases and potentially in the future?

Dr. Josh Muir 8:50 In dentistry, we often refer to ourselves as a service industry, and in light of that, I think we need to be serving more as a profession. We need to be serving more. Dentistry is expensive, and there are a lot of people that need a lot of care that simply can’t afford it. And so when we find these individuals that are ready for treatment, they’re ready for a change, they’re ready for that improvement in their quality of life, and they’re people that have, again, I that we’ve been able to identify as people that are givers. They build, they help, they influence others for in positive ways. You know, it’s, it’s awesome to be able to give back. You know, we’re grateful, or I should say we’re, we are what we are, and we’ve built our office into what it is because of the community around us, and so to be able to give back is is pretty special. Yeah. So Dr. Townsend, what are your thoughts on cases like this?

Dr. Tanner Townsend 9:54 I pretty much what you said. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for us to be able to give. Back to the community that, like you said, we are a service industry, and we want to be service minded and to show that we’re not just doing this to be on a billboard somewhere or to kind of put it out there, but because we truly care, and we truly care about the people in our community and helping their lives improve. So as we move forward, whether it be future cases or just service projects in the community, we want to make sure that we are showing that we care about the people and the individuals and their lives as we are surrounding them in the community. Well, Dr. Muir, how did you decide to do treatment on Devin? How did you get introduced to him?

Dr. Josh Muir 10:42 Yeah, so you know, Devin is fortunate to have some really good friends that care for him and watch out for him. We have a patient that we’ve worked with for a number of years who approached me about Devin, and she is with one of the businesses that’s sponsoring him as well. Yeah, when, when she approached me about that, I already knew the answer was yes. You know, if there’s someone that’s a good person that’s trying to do good for someone else, and they’re asking us to get on board with them as they try to do that, yeah, absolutely, anytime we can, we’re gonna do that.