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The young lady you see on the picture is Louise Myrsten, a ten year old Swedish.
She may look pretty normal but in fact Louise faces one of the rarely seen
150 genetic illnesses and for
this very reason she will be the guest of our article this week.
This illness is called "Ektodermal Dysplasi (ED)" occurs with
the result of having some ill cells during the period of growth in which
the teeth, skin, hair,nail and some tissues/glands develop. I suppose you
can remember this issue from last week. Even though it wasn't exactly the
same case, seeing cells developing into a tooth in the skull of a Swedish
lady instead of hair, arouse
a lot of interest.
Let's now discuss what exactly is this 'ED' and how it effects Louise's
life...Louise doesn't have any permanent teeth. She still has 2 primary
teeth and for this very reason it is always been dreadful to go to dentist
she says. Even the idea of sitting in the dentist chair used to scare her
until she met her new dentist. "He always talks to me, listens to me
beforehand and never disobeys my wills."
 
Actually these words of the 10 year old young lady reminds me once again
the importance of trust between the dentist and the patient. It is vital
to have strong communication bounds before the treatment begins. Louise
says "Dentist should explain to me why he is giving the certain
treatment. I should know what will happen at the end of the
treatment." This point is very important for all the patients and it
becomes even more important for cases like Louise's. The main reason for
this is, Louise is not able to use any of the dentures placed before which
have both esthetic and vital importance in her life. When she uses these
dentures she comes across with more problems like her illness being
noticed by her peers and being left out just because of this,
Apart from the ones she faces during doing simple things like speaking
or eating.
This genetic illness does also brings along problems not only concerning
teeth but also hair and sweat glands. For example the
number of sweat glands of Louise is pretty low and this effects her
daily life by not being able to move much. In case of moving too much or
on a hot day Louise's body temperature rises due to not being able to
sweat. After having played with her friends she can only cool down by
putting her head in a freezer. Winters are also difficult for Louise since
her body can't arrange to keep a normal body heat she ends up needing a
help to keep her body heat at normal degree by wearing thin clothes even
on snowy days.
Among all these problems the most difficult one for her is the one she
faces socially. Louise mentions how upset she is
for people naming her "porcelain bride" in the interview.
Another point which worries Louise is that older people tend to upset her
by asking if she has got cancer or not.
I wanted to share the
striking story of Louise with you as soon as I read it in a Swedish
magazine especially after having talked about the lady who had a tooth
grown in her head. But I want to end my article with my very best wishes in the very first day of the new year.
I wish the new year to bring you lots of luck, happiness and most
important of all health...
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