REBECCA BATS
It is often considered a chore for most people to visit the dentist.
Some are scared of the procedure and others of the price tag.
But for South-African born Australian Carla Schesser, it’s the opposite.
Carla’s toothy tale starts in primary school where a dental van dentist told her parents they needed to address her mouth issues immediately.
Carla was born with a rare undiagnosed disease that’s left her with many health complications.
Her spine is fused stiff, she battles to maintain a weight of at least 35 kilograms, suffers from severe muscle weakness and was born missing half of her adult teeth.
“I was born missing half of my adult teeth, which besides hinders the appearance of my teeth makes everyday functions hard like eating” she said.
Carla also suffers from a severe overbite and says that these complications have had an adverse effect on her confidence.
“I’ve felt like everyone I meet and talk to notice my teeth (or lack thereof) first and that’s what they look at when they look at me” she said.
The permanent solution to Carla’s dental issues would cost her almost $60,000.
After years of consultations Carla received the news this week that Queensland Health would pay for her dental procedure.
“Last week I had a few appointments with Dr. Peter Russell from the Brisbane Dental hospital who told me that the entire procedure was a do ahead” she said.
Carla says it means the world to her to have this procedure done.
“My rare disease has so many complications and to actually be able to treat or fix one of those complications means so much to me. I would have to wait and save most of my adult life to get the procedure done however being able to do it, free of charge, now at 22 I feel like I won the lottery” she said.
The process will take up to 10 months in total and her first surgery consultation is next month.
