A lifestyle restored

The following article appeared in the July 2010 issue of Ezyhealth & Beauty. For the benefit of those who missed the issue, we have reproduced the story below

A lifestyle restored: Getting her life back with the help of a Dental Specialist in Singapore

by Keith G Emuang

“My mouth was a warzone! I couldn’t chew, swallow or speak properly at all. It was distressing,” recalls Meena, a 62-year old homemaker from New Delhi.

This was after she had surgery in June 2007 to remove a malignant tumour in the left side of her jaw. Meena had to undergo two months of chemo-radiation therapy thereafter. Although she had won the battle with cancer, there was a casualty – her upper jaw bone – or precisely the 25 per cent of what was left of it.

Even though the initial promise of oral rehabilitation had lifted her spirits somewhat, several months later, it became clear that her recovery was not progressing as she had expected. In fact, it had not progressed at all.

“My mouth was simply useless and I told my husband that this cannot go on. He agreed and that’s when we decided to do something about it.”

Only the best

Meena’s husband, a medical doctor, decided to speak to his colleagues whilst combing through several renowned medical journals. After a studious search, he identified the specific dental expertise that his wife required. However, the challenge was finding it.

He shares, “There are many prosthodontists but not many have a super-speciality in maxillofacial prosthodontics. Moreover, we wanted a specialist with experience and who was recognised in the field.”

Prosthodontists are dental specialists who are skilled in the replacement of missing teeth and the restoration of natural teeth. Maxillofacial prosthodontists, on the other hand, treat patients who have defects of the head and neck (maxillofacial) region due to cancer, surgery, trauma, and/or birth defects.

Eventually, a shortlist of five maxillofacial prosthodontists was made and following an exchange of email and phone queries, he settled on one from Singapore.

“Dr Cheng was very prompt with his replies and they were good responses too. Besides, his work had been published in several journals which mattered to me,” Meena’s husband says.

In late November 2009, the couple arrived in Singapore to meet Dr Ansgar Cheng, a Prosthodontist at Specialist Dental Group.

Straight to work

“Meena was distraught when I first met her. Although the combination of surgery and chemo-radiation therapy was effective in treating her cancer, there was not much meaningful work done to restore function to her mouth. Even the denture prosthesis she was given did not fit well,” outlines Dr Cheng.

According to him, Meena only had five functional teeth in her upper jaw. The rest, many of which had root canals done on them, were badly decayed as a result of the cancer therapy. Moreover, the dental bone on her upper jaw was completely gone, leading to another major concern.

“She was missing a seal between her nasal and oral cavity and this caused the accumulation of secretions which was hampering her speech and swallowing abilities. We had to give her a new platform to support the reconstruction of that seal, and new teeth too,” explains Dr Cheng.

A day after she arrived, Dr Cheng began work on restoring Meena’s mouth. By the time he was done in early December, some 17 days later, she had a functional rehabilitation on her upper jaw, five teeth reinforced by titanium posts, three root canals redone and 10 Zirconia crowns for protection and good aesthetic effect.

Meena also had a palatal obturator fitted which covered the hole in the roof of her mouth that leads to the nasal cavity. This obturator replaced the missing 75% upper jaw bone and the missing teeth.

A new beginning

Dr Cheng remarks, “She was not just missing teeth. Meena was literally handicapped when she came in and her speech was unintelligible. Fortunately, we have managed to give her back significant function to her jaw and teeth, and within a reasonable time frame.

For almost two years, Meena had not been in the right state of mind to enjoy most things. Unable to bite and speak properly, her social life was affected. Today, she is a different woman and is quick to point out where her gratitude lies.

“I was apprehensive when I first met Dr Cheng but his calm and patient demeanor put me at ease very quickly. By the second day, I had put my full trust in him.”

Dr Cheng adds, “The trust between doctor and patient is vital. So when a patient trusts in their doctor, it makes it very easy for the doctor to carry out treatment.”

According to him, Meena is expected to recover well. He even suggested she put her new jaw and teeth to the ultimate test, which Meena gladly complied. A day and a few pieces of chicken later, she was reassured.

On 16 December 2009, Meena flew back to India – definitely more confident, clearly more excited and audibly more vocal than when she first arrived. Her mouth had been restored and judging by her future plans once she gets home, so too was her lifestyle.

Keith G Emuang is a health correspondent based in Singapore and a regular contributor to healthcare periodicals and publications.

Source- The Specialist Dental Group Blog