by Kristina Morgan
For years we have known that my 11-year-old daughter, Maya, would need to wear braces. Blame it on the genes or blame it on her pacifier as a baby but for whatever the reason, my beautiful daughter needs braces badly but we hesitated to get them because she has a severe metal allergy.
For just a second, let's blame it on the genes. I have an underdeveloped lower jaw and Maya inherited my problem. We are both candidates for headaches and TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorder) which is acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the lower jaw to the skull. TMJ can result in significant pain and impairment so in Maya's case the need for braces isn't just aesthetic---it's a medical necessity.
We have been told that to wait to fix her jaw would result in surgery once the bones aren't growing anymore. This surgery consists of slicing the jawbone in half on either side of the face, sliding them apart to lengthen the jaw and then wiring the jaw shut for six weeks in order to heal. Every time this option has been brought up (too many times!) Maya has cried and frankly, I don't blame her. We were told the only way to avoid this surgery is through braces while she is still growing.
So, what does a person with a severe metal allergy do if they need braces?
Invisalign clear braces still use a metal wire as are the anchors around the molars holding the braces in place. We were told we could coat her braces in silver or another precious metal but that would be very expensive and still no guarantee that an alloy wouldn't cause her a problem.
Add to that the fact that we live in a small village in Lake Chapala, Mexico and I felt sure that there was no way that Mexico could provide the technology to combat this health problem!
As we were dragging our feet because we were hesitant to risk making her sick with any metals in her mouth, Maya's window to correct the problem with orthodontics was closing. In fact, Maya was told by other orthodontists she would have to choose which one she wanted: her teeth and jaw corrected but having to suffer through a rash for several years or her teeth crooked and jaw too small and no rash. What kind of choices are those?!
Well we had already spent three years with the rash and getting a diagnosis. None of us, especially Maya, were keen on suffering through that again!
It all started with a rash that seemingly came out of nowhere. It became so bad that she had to wear bandages on her stomach to keep her clothes from sticking to it. We took her to doctors when we were in the U.S. and specialists in Mexico to find out what was causing the itchy and painful rash on her tummy (right where her metal button from her pants would rest---seems obvious now!) and after three years and a lot of money we spent on expensive creams and misdiagnoses, it was still a mystery.
Finally, when we enrolled our kids in camp last summer we had to get a physical for all three of them. We took them to the local Centro de Salud (Health Center) in Ajijic. The clinic is completely free---including medications--and the doctor there took one look at Maya's abdomen and concluded that she has a metal allergy!
Time: 15 minutes. Money: $0 Look on Mom's face: Priceless.
I'm a little ashamed to admit I was very skeptical. How could dermatologists in the U.S. have missed this? I scoffed at the free, nanosecond diagnosis. However, Maya and I agreed to keep her away from all metal (especially nickel) and see what happened. It certainly couldn't hurt, and wouldn't it be wonderful if it worked?
She improved within a week. Within a month the rash was almost gone. And it didn't even cost us a dime to find out that nickel (among other metals) was the culprit! We tested her reaction after that. Just an hour spent with metal on her skin would cause her to break out in a rash again.
Solution: Stay away from metals. Problem: What about her required braces?
During our March 29th -April 5th Focus group, I told Manuel, our bus driver, about the problem with Maya's reaction to metal and her need for braces during our last group. Manuel has a son (also named Manuel) who is a dentist and orthodontist in Guadalajara. He immediately dialed his son's number on his cell phone and it was ringing when he handed it to me. No chance to put it off until later! I think Manuel must have me pegged! Dr. Manuel Garcia set up an appointment with me at his house in San Antonio for the coming weekend. (He also does house calls!)
After talking to us and examining Maya and hearing our concerns he told us something that amazed us. There is a new orthodontic method, developed about ten years ago, called a T4K or Trainer For Kids. Dr. Manuel told us that the vast majority of orthodontic problems he sees in almost all of his patients are caused by improper muscle forces that occurred during their childhood. It actually takes very little force to move teeth or effect bone development, especially when we are young and our bodies are still developing. The forces applied in orthodontics are very mild, but the key is that they are constant.
The benefits of the T4K include straighter teeth, a properly sized and positioned jaw and prevention of TMJ later in life and because it's made of rubber the metal allergy problem is solved!
The T4K is a rubber plate that fits over the teeth and comes in jazzy colors like hot pink and turquoise and only needs to be worn at night while Maya sleeps and one hour during the day so Maya doesn't even have to go through the typical childhood rites-of-passage like being called 'brace-face' or 'metal-mouth.'
The thing that amazes me most is that this is available here in Mexico---and at a fraction of the cost that people in the U.S. will pay, and it answers the problem perfectly. Dr. Manuel says we should have her T4K ready in one week. He charged us $300 for the whole year. And then he delivered it to our house! Yes, housecalls are alive and well at Lake Chapala! He charged us nothing for the house-call, either!
I have since read in the news that orthodontics and dentistry in Mexico are quite popular among people north of the border because of the high-quality care and extremely low cost. I will never again conclude that my tiny village in Lake Chapala Mexico of all places doesn't have high-tech solutions!
Now Maya is smiling and we have one more reason to shout, "Viva Mexico!"
Gracias, Doctor Manuel!