YouTube Opens the Door for Young Denture Wearers

There’s a stigma young denture wearers face: that dentures are only for the elderly. But the power of social media is changing all that.

Thanks to the numerous vloggers—or video bloggers—sharing their denture stories on YouTube, dentures for millennials have come out of the closet. Dental consumers now have access to a wealth of knowledge about the prostheses and are becoming well-educated patients before they’ve even stepped inside a dental office. 

Probably the most well-known denture vlogger is Kristi Lind—known as “Kalinjax” by her 15,000-plus YouTube subscribers—who has been sharing her denture journey since 2010. Lind covers a variety of topics on her YouTube channel like denture cost, implants, temporaries vs. permanent dentures, product reviews and more. Her most recent series, Confident Denture Wearers, talks about self-assurance and how young people can tell others they wear dentures. 

Lind has motivated many; here’s the story of one follower. 

Meet Amy

Amy Downing had been struggling with her dental health since her early 20s when a string of issues—including a car accident and severe acid reflux from her first pregnancy—left her with just eleven teeth and an ill-fitting partial that she refused to wear.

Downing, now in her late 20s, Googled “young denture wearers” and Lind was the first person who popped up. She and Lind were roughly the same age and, after watching all of her videos, Downing consulted with her dentist and was fitted with full dentures. 

Five years later, Downing was still following Lind’s YouTube channel and saw her three-part video series showcasing Lind’s new hybrid dentures made with Ivoclar Vivadent’s Phonares II teeth. The video taught Downing the features of a quality, esthetic denture. 

“I could relate to everything Kristi was talking about,” remembers Downing. “I always knew something was off with my dentures but I didn’t know what until I watched these videos. For instance, my denture teeth didn’t absorb light. I also learned that slight imperfections make a denture look more lifelike.” 

Inspired by Lind’s new denture and determined to get her own with Phonares II teeth, she called Ivoclar to find a local dentist who uses Phonares. Sales rep Joseph Bellucci put her in touch with Dr. Kevin Harper, Clarksville, IN, who works with Roy Dental Lab, New Albany, IN. Technician William Roy fabricated her new denture using Phonares II teeth. 

“It is always a great feeling of pride to see the patient’s satisfaction and overwhelming joy with a new set of dentures,” says Travis Roy, William's son who runs the lab. “Working with Dr. Harper and seeing Amy achieve the results she desperately desired and dreamed of is truly the ‘why’ of what we do at Roy Dental Lab.” 

At the beginning of her dental journey, Downing felt wearing dentures was her “dirty little secret.” Now, she’s eager to share her own story with the hope that she too can inspire other young denture wearers to break through the stigma. “If there’s another person sitting on the couch saying, ‘I’m in pain’ and doesn’t know what to do and I can help them by sharing my story, it’ll be worth it,” she says.