Help Krissy (Mougeotte) Arnal Get Adult Teeth
Hello! My name is Lacey and as most of you know, I’m Krissy’s younger sister. I’m here today as a last stitch effort to ask for help for my sister. Those of you who have the pleasure of knowing Krissy, know that she is the first person to offer to help those around her and never asks for anything in return. I’ve always wished there was something I could do to help her this problem and show my gratitude for all the years that she has helped me and been my role model! This is her biggest insecurity, and she doesn’t often let her wall down on this subject, so here I am!
At 8 years old, Krissy was diagnosed with Oligodontia. Oligodontia is a rare genetic disorder which represents the congenital absence of more than six teeth. Krissy was missing 17 adult teeth or 32. That meant that about half of her teeth were baby (primary) teeth and if they were to fall out there would be nothing to replace them. Primary teeth are not intended to be used over a long period of time as they start to wear down and erode and aren’t made of the same material that adult teeth are. In order to properly fix her mouth, they would need to break her jaw, wire it shut, add bone grafts and multiple implants and even then that wouldn’t be a sure solution.
At 12 years old the doctors confirmed she was also missing her wisdom teeth. This is when the insurance companies refused to cover the necessary treatment. Multiple dentists fought with insurance companies trying to get treatment covered, but the insurance companies all insisted that treatment would be considered cosmetic.
At 13 Krissy received a treatment plan that would get her by. Krissy had braces for 4 years. This was to close the spacing between her teeth and to give her a functional bite.
At 17, the dentist office gave my family a quote that would cost nearly $40,000, replacing all the retained primary teeth with implants. Something that was out of our family’s budget. Instead, they went with a lesser plan. Pull her primary teeth, place two implants and give her a partial denture at 17 years old. Something that would be extremely painful and a long road that still wouldn’t be the ideal
solution. A lot for a teen to handle!! Well, the morning of the surgery came and she was so petrified of being made fun of for having dentures and worried about the pain, that she didn’t go through with it .
All these dental issues inspired Krissy to learn more about teeth! She became a Registered Dental Assistant and worked at a local pediatric dental office for 10 years. At this time in her life, she still had had 13 primary teeth. After hearing her story and getting to know what a wonderful person she was, the doctor at the dentist office decided to try and help her out. He typed something up and sent her x-rays and models to USC, UCLA and University of the Pacific, asking if they were interested in doing a case study or if they could help her explaining her story. USC responded saying that this case was far too complicated for their program.
Fast forward to the last year! Her teeth were now eroding and becoming smaller making it hard to smile, eat proper foods and causing jaw issues as well. Krissy owns a small business and was also working as a Fundraising Director (until recently), she is always trying to make others smile! She currently has 4 Adult teeth on top and 12 on bottom. Her primary teeth on top were getting looser by the day and she had already lost 2 on the bottom years ago. My brother-in-law and sister (Krissy) refinanced their home to get $19,000 to pay for the treatment needed. She had the 10 primary teeth extracted, 4 implants placed (2 on top & 2 on bottom), bone graphs, 2 crowns placed on her adult molars (to open her bite – cause she her gums in the back were nearly touching), temporary partial called a flipper and has prepaid for another partial denture. Krissy chose to go the partial route once again, because there was no other way around it. She couldn’t afford the correct and more permanent treatment plan, but during the healing process she realized how difficult it is going to be to eat with a partial. Right now, she is eating with just 4 teeth on top because she is not supposed to eat with the flipper in. Which is very embarrassing because while out on lunch or dinner meetings she must excuse herself to take her teeth out. At 36 years old, this still isn’t ideal. Recently Krissy asked for the permanent treatment plan, which includes 4-5 more implants, 2-3 bridges, and 3 more crowns. This will cost an additional $18,000. It was at that point, that I realized that we needed help from our community, family, and friends! Without this, Krissy will be forced to take the more temporary option instead and hope that the partial works.
I understand that this pandemic has affected people globally, financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. So, I’m not here asking for only financial donations. I’m asking for prayers, suggestions, good juju, good vibes, recommendations, and shares! Anything and everything is appreciated!! Thank you for taking the time to read and help me in finding a permanent solution to help my hero, my big sister.
