I want to smile

The girl has not opened her mouth for seventeen years. Sofia-Maria cannot eat normally, talk, brush her teeth, smile. She has a rare congenital malformation of the jaws – the bones of the joint are fused, so the slightest attempt to open her mouth brings unbearable pain. Recently there appeared a chance for Sofia-Maria to smile for the first time in 17 years. And the name of the chance is "titanium endoprosthesis of the jaw joints". Her case was called atypical. Doctors only advised to somehow adapt to the disease and live on. Dozens of specialists, 4 surgeries and no results.  

Sofia-Maria is a desirable firstborn in the family. But the joy of the parents was erased by the grief: the infant had an anomaly - ankylosis of the jaw joints. Sofia had the first surgery at the age of 8 months. The surgeons were trying to separate the joints. However, this attempt, as well as the next three, was unsuccessful.

Mom: "In the early days of her life, I was looking at a tiny mouth that was barely opened and I didn't understand how to feed a baby. I had to drop milk from a pipette. No nipples fit. I had to order a non-standard product from abroad. Sofia grew up, and with her, the problems grew. How to chew food? How to brush teeth? What is natural for others is the true torment for Sofia. We taught her to rub food against the bottom of her teeth, as if on a grater. And to eat, it takes at least an hour. In Sofia's childhood, the greatest horror for me was angina (she did not understand what was happening, and I could not look through her throat), now I want to climb on the wall with hopelessness when another tooth begins to ache".

A 17-year-old girl does not have a single photo with a smile, most of her teeth are destroyed. Dentists are powerless because it is not possible to cure a girl's teeth. Sofia studies English and German. However, conversational practice is still a dream for her. In addition to the light head, the girl also has good hands. She makes cardboard houses for cats, makes Christmas tree decorations and home decor made of felt.

Presently Sofia-Maria has a chance to change her life. Doctors advised putting artificial titanium "joints" instead of abnormal joints. Titanium is the only material that can withstand the required loads (in one day the jaw of a person makes more than 3,000 movements). Such prostheses need to be made individually according to the anatomy of Sofia's face. Doctors assure that after surgery the girl will be able to open her mouth normally. Cost of the prostheses is UAH 218 240. Next year, Sofia-Maria graduates from school. And we can all make her such an incredible gift – the first smile of her life!

Name: Denysiak Sofia-Maria, 09.05.2003

City: Lviv

Diagnosis: bilateral ankylosis of both temporomandibular joints