This Dental Device Was Sold to Fix Patients' Jaws. Lawsuits Claim It Wrecked Their Teeth.

[Nevilledog]

https://khn.org/news/article/dental-device-lawsuits-displaced-teeth-agga-steve-galella/

Boja Kragulj, an accomplished clarinetist who once performed with orchestras in New York, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville, Florida, has already lost four teeth. And she expects to lose at least a dozen more.

Five years ago, seeking to correct her bite and improve her breathing, Kragulj tried a dental device that she was told would put pressure on her upper palate, lengthening her jawbone to fix her issues without surgery, according to an ongoing lawsuit she has filed in federal court. Kragulj said she discovered the device through Facebook, and it sounded “miraculous.”

What she said happened next was ghastly. Kragulj alleged in her lawsuit that instead of changing her jaw, the device pushed her teeth forward through the bone that anchors their roots in place, which put her front teeth in jeopardy. Dozens of photos provided by her attorney show that over time her teeth bulged out of her mouth, warping her smile into a twisted mess. In the three years since filing her suit, Kragulj has had four unsalvageable teeth removed and two others ground to nubs, she said.

Now Kragulj’s only option is to undergo far more extensive surgeries than she faced before, according to her lawsuit. She described pain when eating anything that must be chewed and sometimes struggles to speak clearly through false teeth. And her livelihood is lost: Despite decades of training, Kragulj recently said she can no longer play clarinet well enough to perform or teach.

*snip*

[LudwigPastorius]

1. Always get a second opinion.

...from a specialist who is a medical doctor in the field in question. (In this case a maxillofacial surgeon would have been helpful).

[Marcus IM]

2. Kragulj said she discovered the device through Facebook, and it sounded "miraculous."

I always go with Facebook medical treatments.

[Meowmee]

5. Yep

[brush]

3. Damn, what a mess. She found the device on facebook.

Not a good idea. Have to do due diligence on such an important life choice.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

4. I'm sure meta/facebook will make it right ?

cause they really care about all the people on the book/insta

[Meowmee]

6. Galella

And the other dentists who put the device in their patients are being sued also no doubt. When he promoted it to other dentists in Australia he said “ it’s ok to make a boat load of money because you’re curing people”. That seems to be the whole philosophy behind medicine here.

I doubt any of these people ever had anything truly wrong with them in the first place. And they would’ve been fine if they didn’t do anything including any surgery or other devices.

[Marcus IM]

7. Playing Clarinet can wreak havoc with the front teeth.

Requires unnatural lip muscle development and upper teeth stress to acquire the correct embouchure. Tough instrument on the mouth.

https://www.dansr.com/vandoren/resources/8-skill-levels-for-the-clarinet-embouchure

[pinkstarburst]

8. This had zero to do with the clarinet playing

This was the fault of the device and the terrible dentist. And of course, getting medical advice on Facebook...

[Meowmee]

10. I played it years ago

But not for long enough probably to have any ill effects. However whatever her issues were, I am sure she regrets what has happened. She did not look like she had any serious bite issues before and if so imo surgery to be able to play clarinet better is not worth any problems it may cause.

I had injuries after my first accident years ago including a jaw injury causing severe tmj to the point I could barely open my mouth, and I wore a few devices briefly that were supposed to help or do something. One gave me an instant migraine… I stopped wearing it and I never went back to that dentist again. I ended up doing trigger points in my face, and neck for a while that helped in the long run.

I found this article which is interesting.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7316676/

[pinkstarburst]

11. I'm sure playing an instrument influences

your mouth somewhat, as well as trains breathing strength, etc.

But I also think that research paper fails to take into account that band teachers specifically screen kids and help them choose instruments upon entering band at age 10/11 based on what sort of teeth/lip structure they have in the first place.

On single reed instruments like clarinet and sax, they look for a slight overbite because that is what is needed to play the instrument correctly. Someone whose teeth meet straight or who has an underbite cannot play one of those well and will not be assigned to them. A flute player must not have a teardrop shaped upper lip. A brass player needs to have teeth that meet straight vertically, or nearly straight.

[Meowmee]

12. Hmm

I think it is well know now apparently that it can affect your teeth etc. after a while. However neither myself nor my brother who both played those types of instruments in school were ever screened for any such thing… I also played the violin. I just decided that I wanted to play clarinet, nobody ever looked at my teeth, or at my mouth/ bite etc. or anything, lol. I was in the band and orchestra as well.

[pinkstarburst]

13. Perhaps this is regional

All kids here are screened.

[Meowmee]

14. It was a long time ago

Maybe this is a new thing.

[PCIntern]

9. As a practicing Dentist for 44 years

Please allow me to say that devices like this are beyond horrifying.

If people only knew how many of these types of appliances, medicaments, and strange methodologies, are promulgated in dentistry, you wouldn’t believe it. I used to review a lot of cases for lawyers including malpractice, injuries due to trauma, and iatrogenic etiology, which means that the practitioner directly caused the pathology or injury, and the question I would ask myself was: which side of the courtroom would I rather be sitting on?

This is one of “those” that I didn’t walk away from……..I ran.