Graced with a new set of teeth, India Coleman can smile wide and with pride these days.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And do some long-awaited “girlie” things.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Like lipstick shopping with mom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“I feel like this is my first chance at this. I was born this way,” said the 31-year-old Kent housewife, flashing her newly-installed teeth during a followup appointment at the Pacific Medical Center in Renton last Friday. “My teeth caused me to have infections every month, and they wore me down so badly that I couldn’t function.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Coleman suffered from the throes of Orthogenesis Dental Imperfecta, a brittle bone disease that’s complicated, variable, genetic and rare.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Needing help, surgery was the answer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“It was my only chance to get this done,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Friends and family urged her to apply for a Second Chance, an inaugural community outreach program offered by Pacific Northwest Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (PNWOMS). The group created the program to provide a deserving member of the community with a full-arch restoration and dental implant procedure to restore broken or missing teeth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Coleman was one of only two candidates chosen for the free surgery from a pool of more than 400 applicants from the area.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“Hearing her story tugged at the heartstrings,” said Dr. Ben Johnson, who performed the surgery, a seven-hour team-coordinated operation on Aug. 12.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In Coleman’s case, it was extreme. Her teeth were broken, worn down and weak. She needed infection-fighting antibiotics each month. She managed the condition with frequent daily doses of ibuprofen “just to be able to eat anything and not be in pain.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The effort required CT scans, fittings and other pre-op procedures over the course of several weeks before the actual implant placement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The oral surgical team removed all 24 of Coleman’s teeth, and she was carefully fitted and cast with a new set of permanent dental implants \u2013 room for 30 strong teeth in all.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Surgeons partnered with a local restoring dentist, Dr. Cal Broadbent, to perform the full-arch restoration procedure on Coleman. The cutting-edge treatment has allowed her to experience the look, feel and strength of natural teeth with the security of a permanent and lasting solution.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Coleman said she feels like a new person, happy and more confident.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“I feel really good, healthier,” said Coleman, glancing at her husband, Nigel Banister. “I’m not going to be sick all the time. I feel like I can do anything.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Johnson and the surgical group plan to continue the program. Other PNWOMS community programs are in the works.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“It’s our way to give something back to the community,” he said. “It’s our way to help change a person’s life.”<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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