Reign Enamel Hypoplasia

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Reign is 2 years old and suffers from a severe case of enamel hypoplasia. This is where the enamel does not develop properly during pregnancy stage, causing the teeth to crumble away like chalk as they come in. 

As a direct result of intrauterine growth restriction; Reign was born early with low birth weight which has been another challenge to overcome as the enamel hypoplasia affects her food intake. 

At 10 months old, I identified an issue with the appearance of Reign’s teeth. By the time it was finally diagnosed, 8 of Reign’s front teeth were no longer save-able , and had to be removed under general anesthetic. They had crumbled into the gum causing her pain and increasing the chances of gum infection. 

At the time of the first surgery, only the canines were left as they had just started coming in. 

The rest of Reign’s milk teeth has now come through but they also have the same defects. Reign has been referred back to hospital as the general dentist feels this is a case that requires specialist attention. 

However as Reign is so young, she will need to go under general anesthetic again to carry out the treatment to save her teeth.

The hospital that carried out the first treatment has made it very clear that my best chances of saving Reign’s teeth is to go private, or seek out charities willing to help with the cost of treatments, as the waiting list for NHS patients is very long, we are likely to have the same outcome; where Reign will not get the treatment in time and will lose all her teeth. If this happens she will not have any teeth until her adult teeth begin to come through at the earliest age 7. 

As it stands, it’s a race against time to raise enough funds to be able to get the treatment needed to save Reign’s teeth. 

The lack of research on this condition means that it is not considered a priority by The NHS.  This leaves a big support gap, with a devastating impact on daily life for the child and parents faced with this condition. 

Reign has seen a pediatrician since birth, for a number of complications relating to the intrauterine growth restriction. She was later referred to a dietician as she was showing signs of malnutrition and was not gaining sufficient weight. It later became apparent that Reign could not bite into most food as such she is only given soft textured food. 

This limited texture option has made her develop an adverse reaction to food as she struggles to chew anything given to her. She is often deterred from trying new foods.

Even with the dietician’s recommendations, Reign has continued to lose weight. I am concerned that this unhealthy relationship with food in her formative years will develop into a habit that leads to an eating disorder as she grows up. 

Reign has been assessed by several specialist pediatric dental clinics that has worked with enamel hypoplasia cases, and all have recommended crowns to cover every remaining teeth, followed by pediatric dentures attached by a metal brace to replace the missing teeth at the front. This will help her to be able to bite into food, and will also help with her speech development, building up her confidence in the long run.

The biggest  and most important change this treatment will do for Reign is broaden her food options, which I’m hopeful will set her on a positive journey with food. 

Secondly, this treatment will help aid her speech development, so that in the future I will not have pay huge amounts of money on speech therapy.

This treatment will also save her from making constant and often distressing visits to the dentist chair. Finally I want to avoid any bullying she could endure from her young peers who do not understand why she cannot speak properly and has no teeth. 

Reign is a very happy, friendly, confident and charming toddler. She is very energetic and loves to sing, dance and entertain others. I would not like to see Reign lose the confidence she has built. 

Thank you so much 

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7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects.  If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.