The very first Give a Smile™ patient Emma is a ten year old girl who lives in Melbourne with her mother and her dog, Spotty. Emma is in Grade 5. Her favourite subject is science and her hobbies include reading, Girl Guides and making pancakes!
Orthodontic Problems As the pictures below reveal, Emma has a significant malocclusion (bad bite) with severe prominence of her upper front teeth which are 13.5mm ahead of her lower teeth (2mm is ideal). Her upper jaw is narrow, her teeth are crowded and her lips cannot meet comfortably.
Pretreatment photographs
Orthodontic Treatment The treatment objective for Emma’s severe Class II Division 1 malocclusion is to achieve an ideal, fully corrected occlusion, without the extraction of permanent teeth.
Treatment commenced in June 2005 with fixed appliances (braces) placed on all available maxillary teeth and a fixed functional appliance (Herbst appliance) to advance the lower jaw and dentition.
Progress photographs
Fixed appliances (braces) will then be placed on the lower teeth, completing active treatment with conventional upper and lower fixed appliances, detailing the occlusion until ready for de-band.
Emma is coping very well with her treatment - the Herbst appliance is creating some extra space in the upper arch and the teeth are aligning well. She is doing a great job looking after her braces and is always happy to come in for her adjustment visits.
Emma says: “I am really enjoying seeing my smile improve and I’m feeling more and more confident”.
Emma’s mum says: “It is lovely to see her lovely smile coming out. It makes me happy that Give a Smile™ has given Emma and other children the opportunity to be treated and avoid the huge wait which she would have had in the public system”.
A new smile is BournePopular television personality Shane Bourne looked on as Emma, Australia's first Give a Smile™ patient, had her braces removed recently. < more >
Give a Smile™ keeps on givingFrom Darwin to Mildura to Bowen and Fremantle Give a Smile™ is putting smiles on faces around Australia. This year and every year, over 200 young Australians will have larger-than-life grins... < more >
The dental health crisis – Why Australians are now beginning to smileDental health waiting lists have now reached a crisis point in Australia. According to the Health Services Union, over 650,000 people are waiting for over three years on public dental health lists.... < more >
Patient case study
