Last month, as DH and I brought our children to the dental clinic for routine prophylaxis procedure, our Orthodontist requested that our eight year-old Dancing Queen, Gina undergoes what is called a Lateral Cephalometric X-ray. She wanted to rule out something which she saw in Gina's facial structure, because she noticed that Gina had an under bite and the x-ray would see if it was caused by her teeth or by the bone structure of her jaw.
As we feared, the x-ray showed that it is caused by a genetic condition called Class III Malocclusion. In lay man's explanation, her jaw bone is growing with a serious under bite, causing her chin/jaw bone to protrude and point downwards, thus also causing her upper mouth/upper teeth area to move backwards as well. Our Orthodontist explained that there are three classes or levels to measure severity, and Gina falls under the Class III level, which is the most difficult and longest to treat.
To correct the misalignment, Gina will have to wear an appliance called a Face Mask and Palatal Expansion for a minimum of 14 hours a day for three consecutive months, after which she will be assessed via x-ray again. With this intervention and God's merciful help, and if her jaw should show improvement, she will just have to wear the appliance, only in the evenings for nine months more.
After a year and another assessment following the first phase of intervention mentioned above, Gina will wear another new appliance for the next two years or so (total of three to four years intervention). This new appliance, thankfully, will be worn inside her mouth, and would give her less discomfort and more flexibility to go out and move around.
DH and I prefer to do this intervention now as the doctor highly advised -- before Gina reaches menstrual age, and because according to our specialist, rapid growth spurts in bone structure would occur and it will be more difficult to treat Gina's condition by then, which may eventually even require surgery when she is older.
I need to closely supervise and care for our daughter properly. We were advised that the bands that would pull Gina's jaw/teeth will have to be removed while eating, and be worn back again after meals, and will have to be replaced everyday with a fresh new one. Gina will definitely need my assistance to do this.
Since we have the blessing of Gina's regular school to temporarily homeschool her starting the 2nd semester, we are doing just that since the month of November started. We are using her school books in our homeschooling time, and I divided the topics she would be learning everyday of the week. We are both enjoying our school time together, and are able to bond more while doing so. I also want to thank Gina's school for understanding our decision to homeschool her for a while. With God's help, and we are claiming it -- Gina will be back by next year or as soon as she completes the first crucial three months of intervention.
I attached the two photos above from Scribd.Com to help you understand better. I also encourage you to click on the pink highlights to better understand what we are going through. From hereon, I will be making updates about Gina, and post photos of her progress once she starts wearing the appliance.
God is good and we thank Him for His never-ending provisions. We know that He has seen this long before we all did, and trust that He will never leave us in this journey with Gina. Please stand with us in prayer as we continue to ask for our heavenly Father's healing, guidance and protection, especially for our dear daughter.
Isaiah 53:7
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