By Arman Hunanyan
When our daughter, Nika, turned a year old, we thought the teething was a bit late. But when she was almost two years old and two of the upper molar teeth cut through, we became worried and made a panoramic radiography. It was clear from the picture, that there were no rudiments of other milk teeth and all adult teeth.
We did not understand how it was possible at all and were in shock, then in despair. From dentists, for the first time, we heard the word “anodontia”. In conclusion, we learned that it’s impossible to change anything — “it’s genetics.” The idea that nothing can be done or corrected, made us feel how powerless.
Our Next Step
Time passed and we resigned ourselves. We stopped looking for doctors, since there was not a single one who had such a patient in their practice. We started to look for information from the internet. All the forces were directed to making my daughter’s life easier.
Over time, we began to notice that with age, although slightly, the condition improved for her hair, skin, nails and sweating). At the age of four, we found a dentist who decided to help us and made our first dentures to our daughter.
An Aspiring Artist
Now, Nika is 11 years old and we have already managed to change the dentures four times already. Nika draws and studies very well. She is one of the best in the class. She takes part in all school activities. We are very grateful to our dentist for his participation and willingness to go this way with us.
(Arman Hunanyan is a guest blogger for the NFED and the father of a daughter who is affected by ectodermal dysplasia. The family lives in Armenia).