Ferndown dentist comes to the rescue of patient who lost all her teeth due to rare condition
A kind-hearted dentist from Ferndown has come to the rescue of a local woman after she had to have all of her natural teeth removed due to a rare genetic condition.
Jess Chisholm, 24, was born with oligodontia, and had to have all her natural teeth extracted as a result of the condition in December 2015. The NHS was unable to fund dental implant treatment and Jess was left incredibly disappointed. The 24-year-old felt very self-conscious about smiling in public, and she became increasingly withdrawn. She recalls the moment she had the procedure, saying that it was a very difficult time. She was unable to eat, and all she wanted was to be able to smile again.
After hearing her story, a local dentist and members of the community in Ferndown rallied around to help. The community raised £3,650 and dentist, Alistair Bunting, offered to fit a new set of dental implants free of charge. The money was used to buy the materials for treatment and Alistair was able to carry out the procedure at Balmoral Lodge Dental Practice a year after Jess had the operation to remove her teeth.
The implants have changed Jess’ life, and she is so grateful to all those who donated to help cover the cost of the implants and to Dr Bunting for offering to waive his fee for fitting them. She is confident about smiling now, she can eat normally, and her quality of life is so much better. Jess is now looking forward to spending more time with her friends and her boyfriend, Adam, and she’s catching up on all those missed photo opportunities.
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