I was so excited to see the boys again after almost 2 weeks of denied contact. The boys ran into my arms and it was an emotional reunion for all!
The first thing I noticed after leaving the visiting centre was that Benji was missing another front tooth. When I inquired about it after returning the children, the woman at the centre asked the father. He told her that the missing tooth was ‘a false tooth (put in the last time Benjamin was operated on to have teeth removed) which had broken (when he’d bitten into something) and needs to be replaced.’
Not only was I not informed that my 4 (then 3) year old child has a false tooth but that the courts can still claim the children are being well cared for!
I have never heard of children having false teeth at 3 years old!!! Please could anyone with dental knowledge or access to a dentist respond if they have ever heard of a child of 3 having false teeth?
It’s also questionable why Benjamin was given false teeth but as the photos show, Sammy’s teeth were surgically removed and he was not allowed the ‘benefit’ of false teeth.
When the children were in my care, everyone knew them for their toothy grins, their teeth were as perfect as little pearls.
Their milk teeth have not fallen out naturally but have been surgically removed without any explanation by their so-called ‘carer.’
Sammy’s teeth in my care | Sammy today |
Benji’s teeth in my care | Benji today |
Beth I am no dentist but common sense tells me that there was no need for this, one boy at that age having teeth removed is strange and very questionable to me but a second child also having teeth removed is very, very sinister. I am seriously worried about the welfare of the boys. They are in dangerous hands which I believe should be presented as evidence of abuse and shown at the next court case. The first photographs show two perfectly healthy, happy little boys the next photos I am sorry to say show two little boys who look to me physically and emotionally abused, they don’t look right.
I received a reply the other day from the Austrian Ambassador and I was not happy with it whatsoever so I replied letting him know in no uncertain terms that this was a travesty of justice etc. We have a saying in Irish “Tiocfaidh Ar La” which was used politically and it means ” our day will come ” and ” our day will come ” Beth for you and the boys when you will all be reunited as it should be.
As a dentist my observations are as follows:
For a four year old to have 3 front teeth removed in this country is common only amongst those in the lowest socio-economic groupings where oral health inequalities are the greatest. Even then it is less common.
I can categorically state that in my current practice where I have worked for 9 years I have never seen a child having to have 3 front teeth removed.
The indicators for removal of incisors like that was probably severe decay which may have been caused by a either a lack of brushing or a high sugar diet. Maybe they were given and left with a bottle with a sugary drink to take to bed with them at night.
In the UK using false teeth to replace front teeth in a child so young would be virtually unheard of.
If a child presented like this to me in practice, I would be extremely concerned that the factors causing the problems were dealt with to prevent further extractions being necessary.
I hope this is of help and not too depressing to read.
Hatzlacha with everything.
Ellie Bergin.
Aine – have read somewhere that removal of kids’ front teeth when they are far too young is almost always (but especially in 2 of them at once!) the consequence of someone giving them a bottle of milk and leaving it in their mouth for hours. Now who would have done something as perverse as that? A young dr? An aunt? A grandma? A nanny? Someone has something to answer for and should not be caring for young kids. That was criminal behavior.
Re the Austrian ambassadors who received mails from readers of this site: they are apparently not able to formulate mails of their own, otherwise each of them would have responded individually and given the matter some thought. A diplomat at ambassadorial level should be ashamed of him-/herself for sending a pro forma mail. Do Austrian diplomats always behave so embarrassingly when they are representing their country?