Click on the image to watch Kyla's Story (video opens in a new window)

A smile is everything. When you are around friends and colleagues and they smile at your silly jokes or greet you with a warm smile when they first see you, it makes you feel wanted and appreciated.

What would it be like if you could not bring yourself to smile back? When you had forgotten what your own smile looked like because, even in the privacy of your own house, you could not bear to see yourself smile?

So it was for Kyla. Kyla had a very tough life.  Her mother died a few days after she was born. She was molested when she was four years old. Abuse and brutality were her secret companions until she was 12.

Kyla had no role models and made bad choices as she grew older and the more bad choices she made the more she hated herself. Self-loathing crept into her life and robbed her of the impulse to take care of herself.

Kyla best friend then became crack cocaine. From abuse to crack. A not uncommon journey.

"My disease stripped me of everything and almost cost me my life. I lost the trust and respect from my children, friends, and family members and even my place in society. I forgot how to live and fear became the only thing I had come to know" she says now.

After 20 years of using crack, Kyla reached a turning point in her life. She was prepared to care about and for herself again.

No one escapes without scars from a life like that. Kyla had lost most of her teeth by the time she "stayed stopped" from using drugs.

Bottomless Closet approached Eon Clinics, the specialists in dental implants, and asked for their help. Little did we know how much help they would offer!

Kyla will receive a full set of dental implants as their gift to her. The procedure takes one day and Kyla will be transformed.

"My children I'm sure are proud of me because of me staying clean now for 15 months, but they too are embarrassed to be seen with me in public places and even around their friends because of the condition of my mouth. I have been yearning for the day to come that I would be able to eat without pain and smile without fear of what others see when I speak."

That day has come and  thanks to a dream partnership, Kyla will learn to smile again

Sincere thanks to Eon Clinics and to all the people who find time to be kind and generous to others.

Media interested in arranging an interview with Kyla, a representative from Eon Clinics or Jude Andrews, Bottomless Closet Executive Director should contact either:

jandrews[at]bottomlesscloset[dot]org 312-527-9664 or

Jody Mccarty [jody@eonclinics.com] Marketing Director, (312) 730-6665