A Kaitlyn Loop is shown here on a porcelain fused to gold crown. It will help prevent swallowing the crown if it is accidentally dropped in the back of the mouth during insertion. Dental floss is knotted around it. It will not be seen by the patient because it is cut off the disto-lingual part of the crown with a dental drill after the cement hardens.

Kaitlyn loops are seen in the Right Column, fourth photo down. They are used to prevent accidental swallowing of a dental post or a porcelain crown if they are accidentally dropped in the back of the mouth.

Dental Reconstruction of a phobic Wall Street executive. Total treatment time was about nine hours in two visits during one business week: Monday (four hours) and Friday (five hours). This patient hid his dental condition for over a decade by never smiling.

In the first row of photos, note that the bite was over-closed due to a prior history of an eating disorder, now controlled, and a current tooth grinding habit.

An Oral Surgery consultation with panoramic x-ray (second row) was performed prior to treatment to evaluate opening the bite.

The third row shows x-rays taken after the Endodontist completed eight root canals on the first day on tooth #’s: 6 – 11, 14 and 15.

The fourth row shows the lab-processed 11 unit (11 tooth) temporary bridge and the cast gold post/cores (with Kaitlyn loops) for the root canal treated teeth.

The fifth row shows the cast gold post/cores cemented.

The sixth row shows the lab-processed temporary bridge in place after the surgeon extracted tooth #’s: 3 – 5 and 12, crown lengthening gum surgery was performed on tooth #’s: 6 – 11, and a distal wedge was performed on #15.

The patient will have a final porcelain-metal bridge made after the gums heal. Implants may also be placed in the upper right posterior. A bite plate is also necessary to try to mitigate the force of tooth grinding. Referral for pharmacological management of anxiety is also worthwhile.

The Kaitlyn Loop can be cast with both cast gold post and cores (as seen here) and dental crowns. About 12 inches of dental floss is inserted through the Kaitlyn Loop with both ends remaining extra-oral during try-in and cementation. This will help prevent accidental swallowing of a cast post and core or a tooth crown if dropped in the back of the mouth.