Thirteen-year-old Lily is a theater lover — and no stranger to taking to the stage, having already performed in two plays just this past school year. “She’s always at her most confident when she’s on stage with her friends,” says her mum, Jade. Lily’s confidence is something she has recently regained after once feeling confident about her smile.
During a routine dental visit when Lily was 6 years old, an x-ray showed that she had an extra incisor tooth on the upper left side of her mouth. The community dentist she went to suggested she be seen by Boston Children’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program to pull out her tooth. After a successful extraction, and allowing a few years to monitor her dental development, her primary dentist recommended that she be seen by an orthodontist. The reason: Follow-up X-rays showed that the double tooth had shifted and was compromising the roots of nearby healthy teeth.
Judd knew that Boston Children’s Dental Department it was where he wanted to bring Lily. “When I was a dental patient at Boston Children’s myself, I remembered how awesome the experience was for me as a child, and I wanted Lily to have the same level of care,” she says.
Braces to adjust Lily for tooth replacement
Dr. Mark Ackerman at Orthodontics Program evaluated Lily’s case and, in coordination with the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Program, determined that the permanent canine on the left side had grown in the wrong position — causing shortening of the lateral root of the incisor tooth. Dr. Ackerman shared his findings with the family and explained that the tooth would have to be extracted to allow the canine to enter the mouth. Lily would then need braces to make room in preparation for replacing the extracted tooth.
A few months after her second extraction, Lily had braces fitted. Although she still felt a little self-conscious about her teeth, her braces helped give her a confidence boost because of the colorful elastic bands that ran over the brackets. “She loved picking out the colors on these dates. It took her longer to decide on a color scheme than to install them,” laughs Jade.
Lights, Camera, Lily!
While Lily was wearing her braces, Dr. Ackerman was working to create a temporary retainer that had a tooth attached to fill the gap in Lily’s mouth. Once Lily’s braces were off, the retainer was waiting for her — and she was more than ready to put it on. “I loved my maintainer. I know some kids don’t like having one, but mine had teeth glued on that covered the gap, so I was much more comfortable smiling and laughing with my mouth open,” she says.
Since the retainer was only temporary, Dr. Ackerman referred to Lily Dr. Aram Kimthe prosthetist at Boston Children’s. During the consultation, Dr. Kim recommended a resin-bonded bridge (also called a Maryland bridge) as it does not require users to remove it when eating or playing sports.
“Dr. Kim was amazing to make the bridge just for Lily,” says Jade. He took the time to make sure the color and size were accurate and matched Lily’s other teeth perfectly.
With the bridge now in place, Lily only needs to wear a retainer at night to keep her teeth aligned while she waits to receive the final installment of a dental implant in a few years. She proudly sings on stage at high school with her new friends and loves to smile big. “She’s a more confident girl – it’s amazing to see her shine on stage now,” says Jade.
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