Dr. Kristen Yant, DMD, MS

What board certification means

A periodontist completes dental school, then three additional years of accredited surgical residency in the diagnosis and treatment of gum disease, bone loss, recession and dental implants. Board certification goes further: it requires passing a rigorous examination by the American Board of Periodontology, the specialty’s national certifying board.

Dr. Yant is a Diplomate of that board. You can verify it yourself through the American Board of Periodontology’s public Diplomate locator.

Not every dentist placing implants in Grand Junction has this training. It is worth asking whoever is treating you.

Her training

Dr. Yant earned her DMD at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, where dental students spend their first year training alongside Harvard Medical School students in hospitals. That experience shapes how she practises: the mouth is not separate from the body, and a patient’s medical history often changes what the right treatment actually is.

She completed her periodontal residency and a Master’s in Oral Biology at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, in a programme that trains alongside the prosthodontics department. That is unusual, and it means she plans the surgical and the restorative sides of a case together rather than solving one and handing off the other.

• Diplomate, American Board of Periodontology.
• Doctor of Dental Medicine — Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
• Periodontal residency and Master of Science in Oral Biology — University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
• Bachelor’s degree — University of Maryland.

What she treats

• Gum disease and osseous surgery — from scaling and root planing through pocket reduction and regeneration.
• Soft tissue and gum grafting — connective tissue grafts, allografts and minimally invasive techniques.
• Extractions with bone grafting — atraumatic removal, socket preservation, ridge augmentation and sinus lifts.
• Dental implants, single and full-arch, including guided placement from 3D CBCT imaging.
• Crown lengthening — functional and esthetic.
• Surgically facilitated orthodontics.
• Complex restorative and periodontal treatment planning.
• Medically complex patients, coordinated with their physicians.

Her approach

Every treatment plan is measured against three things: health, function and esthetics.

Health means that when treatment is finished, you should need nothing more than good home care and regular cleanings — not repeat surgery after repeat surgery. Function means eating what you want and speaking and laughing without pain, defined by what matters to you. Esthetics means being happy with how your smile looks, not merely tolerating it.

Outside the office

Dr. Yant grew up in Oakland, Maryland, a small mountain town. After training on the East Coast and practising along the Front Range, she now calls the Western Slope home. She hikes with her husband and their dog Cash, snowboards, cooks, and reads.

Professional memberships

• American Academy of Periodontology
• American Dental Association
• Colorado Dental Association