‘She couldn’t stop smiling’: Woman has new smile after year of free surgeries

OMAHA, Neb. —

A year ago, KETV NewsWatch 7 interviewed Kaitland Simpson for the first time. She didn’t smile once.

A year later, that’s changed.

“One of the girls was truly so surprised when I came in,” Simpson said. “I was beaming and smiling from ear to ear, and she just started crying. She said, ‘I can’t stop looking at you because you’re smiling.'”

Previous coverage: Patient receives free surgery for a new smile

In September 2025, we brought you Simpson’s story as she started a journey towards a new smile. The 34-year-old started losing them in her 20s to an autoimmune disease called Sjögren’s Syndrome. After months of surgeries, implants and recovery, Simpson now has an entirely new set of teeth.

“I think I’m going to make to the end. I think I kind of see the light in the tunnel, you know?” Simpson said.

She said it all started with Dr. Stephen Coffey, a maxillofacial surgeon at Oral Surgery Associates.

“We started seeing her a couple of years ago, taking teeth out here or there,” Coffey said. “It became pretty obvious to us that she needed something more.”

“One day, after he pulled a couple, he said, ‘I don’t care about the money,'” Simpson said. “He said, ‘You’re here, I’m here, let me help you.'”

The Give a Smile program chose Simpson for a completely free jaw remodel and dental implants. Coffey worked with a team of nurses and doctors to ensure Simpson’s surgeries went smoothly, and he said there have been no complications along the way.

“You create a situation where the implants are in a position where they can support new teeth that are made out of initially acrylic plastic and then eventually they’re made out of zirconia,” Coffey said.

It’s not the first time he’s restored someone’s smile, but it’s one that will stick with him.

“Every single one of them is enthusiastically pleased with it and they, in most cases, wish they would have done it sooner,” Coffey said. “When you build somebody back something that’s been missing for a long time, it’s a nice feeling to be able to do that.”

Simpson said he didn’t just give her a smile — he gave her life back. Before the surgery, Simpson was a homebody.

“I kind of just hibernated in my apartment, didn’t go out a whole lot and became really depressed and really frustrated,” Simpson said.

So secluded to the point that other people noticed, including her mother and her doctors.

“When she lost her teeth, [her mom] sort of felt like she lost her daughter,” Coffey said. “She lost her confidence; she became depressed. She had a hard time going out and looking for a job and being around people.”

Simpson said her biggest champion was her mom, who wouldn’t let her give up. She reminded Simpson about all the hurdles she had already overcome: being a micro-preemie born at 25 weeks, multiple surgeries before her first birthday, mental challenges, and her autoimmune disorder.

“My mom just reminded me, ‘You’ve handled everything else,'” Simpson said. “You know how to throw haymakers and kick down doors and not give up, and she was right.”

Now, Simpson’s getting out in the community, starting with a thank-you lunch for her doctors and care team.

“[Coffey] just did it and it was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re an angel,'” Simpson said.

“[She was] just confident. She couldn’t stop smiling,” Coffey said.

From patient to advocate, Simpson’s next step is finding a job in healthcare. Previously, she was in the field, and that’s where she first learned of Coffey’s work.

“I’ve been on both sides, and that’s really what life is about,” Simpson said, “Helping people and trying to make things better for the people that come after you.”

Simpson’s final procedure was on Tuesday, her mother’s birthday. A fitting present for the woman who told Dr. Coffey his work brought her daughter back.

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