Re: - Dental Update

[Guest guest]

Hi Ken,

We have been dealing with dental/orthodontic issues for years. I

have both health & dental insurance, but neither could help me in

's situation. Health insurance doesn't cover anything dental/

orthodontic even if it is due to medical problems (RSS), and I could

not find any orthodontists participating in my dental plan who could

help . Everyone I took him to suggested that he needed to be

treated in a clinical setting. Two years ago at the convention, Dr.

Kirt instructed me to contact a craniofacial team in my

area. We went through an all day comprehensive evaluation there with

every specialist you can imagine, but the only thing I cared about

was the orthodontic component (we already had a good dentist). We

were not charged for the craniofacial team evaluation. I forget why,

but it is a free service. However, if you have insurance, they do

try to bill for things like speech, OT, PT evaluations. From what I

understand, everyone else donated their time. After the evaluation,

the patient is referred to different doctors, therapists, etc. We

were able to get a referral to a local dental school, and by going

this route, we convinced the dental school to take on as a

research case & treat him for free. It sounds great, but there is a

downside. has been passed around from all kinds of dental

specialists - orthodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons, etc. The

process has been VERY slow. This week will mark 2 years since we

started the whole process. Does have braces yet? NO! He has

had 7 baby teeth pulled though. On Tuesday, he will be admitted to

the hospital to have oral surgery. They are going to pull some

permanent teeth (I don't know how many & which ones yet), uncover

some impacted teeth, and do a gingivectomy in which they cut away

some of his gum tissues. 's mouth is a mess. In addition to

his gums covering the majority of his teeth, especially the back

ones, he has one tooth on the bottom directly behind his central

teeth, and he has 2 teeth coming on top at the top of his gums

(almost by his lips). The area is bulging, because I don't think the

teeth are able to come out there. needs a ton of work,

before he can even be ready for braces. I understand it is common

for RSS children to have to have permanent teeth removed due to

issues with overcrowding. Dr. confirmed this as well as some

of the adults who were at the convention. I'll keep you posted on

how 's surgery goes. He'll be staying in the hospital

overnight. In the meantime, I would encourage you to look for

craniofacial teams in your area and explain to them the services you

are looking for.

Kim C.

> Hi all,

>

> Hopefully this will be short.

>

> We took my son , who is 8 and has RSS, to the orthodontist

> Monday. They took a panoramic x-ray. They didn't find any pans (just

> kidding) but they found he has 2 teeth on the bottom lying

> horizontal. Also, he has one on the top in the same position. In

> addition, they can find no trace of any permanent upper eye teeth.

>

>

> They are recommending that we have several (4) of his permanent teeth

> extracted to make room for the horizontal teeth. Even if these do not

> come in, they will continue to grow and push on the roots of the

> other permanent teeth, damaging them also.

>

>

> The orthodontist recommended that we get this done in the next 3 to 6

> months. Our problem for the moment is I am out of work and we have no

> health insurance. It is always something.

>

> I'll keep you posted. This is a developing story -- aren't they all?

>

>

> Ken M

>

>