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Perfect Smile A teenager has spoken about the routine dental work that ruined FOUR years of her childhood by major health problems. Tooth extraction and the fitting of train tracks are accepted as a harmless part of growing up. Many parents don't think twice about giving consent to the treatment if it means their child will obtain the perfect smile. But controversial research shows this treatment can have alarming side effects dislocating jaw, neck, back and even knee joints and lead to long-term health problems.
A 15-year old Eastbourne schoolgirl has spoken exclusively to the Gazette about her years of pain and isolation and the corrective treatment that finally put her on the road to recovery. At the age of 11, Leyla Cassand from Old Town was a carefree, outdoor girl who loved roller blading and tennis. But within months of receiving treatment to straighten her teeth, she began to suffer headaches and pain all over her body that made it impossible for her to attend school regularly. She said, I want people to be made aware of the possible side effects of treatment. When my dentist told me he was going to extract two of my top teeth and fit a brace to straighten my teeth, it all seemed perfectly straightforward and logical. No one mentioned there could be any side effects at all. If I had known, I would have preferred to stick with goofy teeth. The problems began with a clicking sound in my right jaw just in front of my eardrum. At first, I thought nothing of it but as time progressed, I experienced even more health problems ear pains, neck, back and knee pain, tinnitus and constant headaches and drowsiness. My neck and back pain became so agonising I was unable to sit for more than two hours at school bus rides were unbearable because bumps jolted my joints. I used to be an outdoor girl but I was no longer able to do anything. At one point I spent most of my time in bed because this way I got relief from pain. Leyla and her mum Bernie begged for help from her dentist, her GP and an oral surgeon. They claim the painful symptoms were dismissed as normal growing pains. It was only when the Cassandra’s sought a second opinion from a private dentist that Leyla's excruciating pain was explained. Dr Richard Dean, from Forest Row, diagnosed the problem as TMJ Temporomandibular Joint dysfunction and believed it was caused by the extraction of teeth and fitting of braces. He began a course of corrective treatment that produced dramatic improvements within weeks. Leyla said, He explained that the extraction of the two top teeth had created in imbalance and changed my bite. Wearing braces created further problems by changing the structure of my jaw and pushing it back, crushing my eardrums and putting the Temporomandibular joint out of alignment. He explained this joint was connected with my spine through a channel of nerves and muscles and if something was wrong with one, the other will be affected. My back was fine before my clicking jaw it became clear to me that my jaw dysfunction had caused the back pain. Sure enough, within a few weeks of treatment, the stabbing pain at the base of my spine had eased. Summarising the prescribed treatment in a letter to the Cassands, Dr Dean said I told Leyla that in all likelihood the joints in her jaw were out of alignment and that the discs were displaced. I consider that the extremely good improvements in her symptoms, coupled with my diagnostic findings, confirm the diagnosis of the displacement of both Temporomandibular joints. No part of the body operates in isolation when the jaw alignment is incorrect, other muscle groups are affected. The research charity, the British Dental Health Foundation has confirmed TMJ dysfunction can be caused by orthodontic work. Nigel Carter, chief executive said, Undoubtedly there is a connection between an uneven bite the way the teeth meet together and headaches, neck and back problems. » Click here to Request a consultation online
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