Boy Who Lost Almost All His Teeth When He Was 3, Regains His Smile

Ryan Coutinho,6, who lives in a rural area in north-eastern Brazil had his teeth pulled out as a result of early cavities at the age of 3 and was left with a few on his lower arch according to BBC.

A dentist, Ms Mattos, 25, who reportedly met Ryan two years ago during a social project at his school told BBC, “I had never seen something like this.”

Ryan’s teacher told the dentist that he avoided smiling and did not engage much with other students. Ms Mattos reportedly offered to treat the boy after contacting the boy’s mother through the teacher. But the mother refused, believing that her son would be reliving the drama of his operation.

“They are all very modest, live outside the town and didn’t understand the procedures, They were still shaken by the process that removed all his teeth.” the dentist said.

Has God will have it, two years later, by coincidence, his mother got a job as a cleaner at the public clinic where Ms Mattos works. Soon afterwards, the boy reportedly had a pain in one of his remaining teeth- he went to the clinic for treatment and met the dentist again.

“I asked him what he wanted. He smiled and said: ‘a smile like my friends’,” the dentist said.

More over, the mother was still reluctant to accept the treatment, but later agreed with the father of the boy.

Meanwhile the town’s public health service refused to pay for the procedure and the dentist took it upon herself to do it for free with her own personal equipment.

After the operation, several weeks passed, Ryan visited her after school to take X-rays and impressions but was disappointed every time he returned home without his new teeth.

Ms Mattos  said if Ryan’s permanent teeth doesn’t come out when he turns 18, he can then opt for dental implants, says she will continue to assist him.

On 14 October, two days after Brazil’s Children’s Day, he finally got a new smile, a denture for his upper arch.

“We all cried. It was very moving,” the dentist said.

The story was shared on Facebook by the dentist and has gone viral. She has become a guest on TV programmes and many other parents have approached her with similar cases.

“I’m really surprised by the reaction, it’s unexpected.”

“I guess all the reaction has to do with the complexity of the case. And because people aren’t used to generosity any more. So when they see cases like this, there’s commotion.” she said.

Photo credit: bbc.com/Facebook