The Doctors: Young Woman’s Congenital Hypodontia
The Doctors took a closer look at the story of a girl born with a rare defect that has affected her self-esteem her entire life. A 20-year-old woman named Jessica explained that she has congenital hypodontia, which means that almost all of her adult teeth are missing.
Jamie, Jessica’s sister shared that Jessica doesn’t go out anymore, and seeing her sister hiding away is hard to watch. Because Jessica only has six adult teeth and four molars in the back, she has to eat pretty much liquids, or very soft foods. She was forced to sacrifice the health of her mouth to have the appearance look better, but it’s causing infections, which lead to bad breath.
The Doctors took a closer look at the story of a young woman whose birth defect has caused her to live without most of her permanent teeth. (kurhan / Shutterstock.com)
Meghan, another one of Jessica’s sisters, shared that Jessica had all of her baby teeth taken out of her bottom jaw so all she had was gums. Jessica said she felt like she was a burden to her family because her condition is emotionally draining for everyone. Brenda, Jessica’s mom, said Jessica is always hiding behind her hand, and although Jessica wants to go out and meet some nice guys, it’s a challenge for her because of her confidence. Jessica’s sister Melissa said she wants her sister to feel as confident and beautiful as she sees her.
The Drs TV: Birth Defect Causes Missing Teeth
Jim, Jessica’s father, explained that it’s been tough financially, and because of the maintenance, it’s been a never-ending struggle. Brenda said she’ll always hurt until she sees her daughter with a confident smile, but doesn’t know how they’re going to be able to get Jessica the help she needs. Jessica said that what she wants more than anything is to be able to truly and genuinely smile for the first time.
The Doctors sent Jessica to see dentist Bill Dorfman about her options. He told her that she had some permanent teeth, but doesn’t have enough to form a beautiful smile. He further explained that the biggest challenge with implants is the need for bone, and if you have no teeth, you have no bone. Dr. Dorfman introduced Jessica to an oral surgeon, Dr. Steven B. Kupferman, who explained that Jessica’s teeth never developed, and because of that, the bone that supports the lips never developed as well, so she’ll have a very “sunken in” face if her last remaining teeth fall out.
Jessica and her mom Brenda joined The Doctors on the show and Jessica said the hardest part of the journey has been hearing from the insurance company that it’s cosmetic because you need teeth for so many aspects of your life. Dr. Travis Stork said it’s a lot more than just cosmetic. Brenda said it’s been heartbreaking to watch her daughter’s struggle. Meghan, Jessica’s sister, explained that she wrote into the show because once they found out the insurance company wasn’t going to cover it, it compelled her to step in and do whatever she could for her.
The Doctors: All On-4 Procedure For Missing Teeth
Dr. Dorfman explained some of Jessica’s options. He first said that the easy fix would be to use dentures, which would call for him to take out the six teeth she has and have her use upper and lower removal dentures, but as he said, “who wants to do that for a beautiful young 20-year-old girl?”
He said the other option is called the All On-4 Procedure, where they place four implants in the upper arch, four implants on the lower arch, and use permanent fix bridges. Dr. Dorfman said the problem is that they did a scan, they saw that Jessica had plenty of room for implants on the lower, and plenty of room for three implants on the upper, but for the fourth implant they desperately needed, there was no bone.
He further explained that there is another procedure called a zygomatic implant, and with that, the implant would be put into the cheek bone to provide the fourth implant. If they did that, Jessica would have four implants on the lower and four on the upper, with permanent bridges that look, feel, and function like “beautiful natural teeth.”
The Drs TV: Dental Procedure To Replace Missing Teeth
The Doctors showed a picture of what Jessica could look like after the procedure and it was amazing the difference. They also showed a profile picture and explained that because of the loss of bone, Jessica’s face is actually sunken in like someone who has aged. By opening up her bite and her mouth after the procedure, Jessica would notice a dramatic difference in her profile, elongating her mouth.
The procedure would cost anywhere from $60,000-80,000. Dr. Dorfman said that what he would like to do is put together a team with Dr. Kupferman as the oral surgeon, Dr. Gansberg as the anesthesiologist, Sam from Beverly Hills Dental, and himself, to do the surgery as the “biggest makeover ever.” They will do the procedure at no charge. Unbelievable!
Well as a general dentist I would like to offer another option. How about smaller implants and place attachments on the implants where partial dentures can attach. They can be removed easily to clean and would be just as attractive and more easily repaired. This would also be a lot less invasive a procedure and more cost effective.