[tri-med] Re: orthodontics

In a message dated 4/20/07 10:06:35 AM, hollyandms@xxxxxxx writes:


> She said, "I think kids with special needs deserve to have nice teeth, nice 
> smiles, too."
> 

In theory and practice, I agree with your friend. My oldest daughter was able 
to get by with serial extractions to make room for teeth and her teeth are 
beautiful. The other four all had braces and years of orthodontia. Kaila had 
years of braces and then cranial facial surgery to rebuild her jaws and cheek 
bones due to injury/infection from being battered in infancy. She is doing fine 
and is also a very attractive young woman. No one would ever know all that she 
had to go through. Dom was on track for pretty much the same program. He got 
his braces and I was able to keep his teeth sort of clean until he was about 
13, but after that he did not let me get near his teeth. Even so we continued 
on 
with his orthodontia, even when he was in residential treatment up in Santa 
Barbara. Finally the orthodontist got concerned that his teeth were getting too 
much decay under the braces, so we removed them and gave him retainers to 
wear, but he refused to put them in. The year before he came home, he went to a 
dentist up there and had $1000 worth of fillings. Every time I have taken him 
to the dentist since he was 18, he has at least 10 fillings. I think he just 
has bad teeth, but also he just does not give a darn about taking care of them. 
Now he is walking around with holes in his head where teeth once were and he 
doesn't really care. I think he still thinks there is some magic that will give 
him a mouth full of beautiful teeth that he will never have to care for. And 
maybe if he looses the rest of them and he has dentures, his wish will come 
true. And he also has heart issues so his gum disease really worries me. It is 
why I take him to the family physician every month. We just watch his weight 
and oral health.



Nan
mom to:
Dom, 9/16/83, Tri 18 mosaic and Bipolar Disorder.
Ali, 6/12/83, Autism, Tourette Syndrome, ADHD



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