Community gives Canadian woman reason to smile

For Michelle Arsenault, a woman with William's Syndrome in St. John, Canada, smiling is no longer the excruciatingly humiliating experience it used to be. A community organization and an orthodontist have combined their efforts to give Michelle the smile she always craved. William's Syndrome is an extremely rare neurodevelopmental disorder that is a result of a chromosomal abnormality.

The main characteristics of this condition are elfin facial features, occasional violent outbursts, some degree of mental retardation, cardiovascular problems, and dental abnormalities. William's Syndrome patients tend to have smaller teeth that are spaced wide apart. These patients also suffer from a number of bite abnormalities. The teeth may also have a unique shape or appearance. Michelle has had major dental problems for most of her life. Her teeth were extremely misaligned to the extent that they were spread across three rows in her mouth. Besides affecting her smile, the severity of the misalignment also made it harder for Michelle to bite and chew food.  According to the Telegraph Journal, the young woman is, from a modest background, and her family lacked the financial resources to pay for her extensive orthodontic treatment.

Michelle would have spent rest of her life hiding her smile if it hadn’t been for the kindness of strangers who stepped up to pay for her treatment. The dental committee of the St. John Kiwanis club offered to bear the expenses of Michelle's orthodontic treatment. The Kiwanis club dental committee has the CEO of Key Industries, Michelle's employer as one of its members. The CEO, Christine Evans was the one responsible for getting Michelle's orthodontic treatment moving. The club’s dental committee helps patients from low income families with their dental treatment expenses. Every year, 4 children receive free orthodontic and other dental treatment through the efforts of the committee. Four years ago, Michelle was one of the lucky ones who was selected for the free dental treatment.

Now, 4 years later, Michelle’s treatment has been successfully completed. Her teeth now are better aligned, and the difference is clear to see in her smile. The treatment has worked wonders for her self confidence and made her more outgoing. According to Michelle’s mother, she did worry initially that her daughter would not be able to go through the 4 years of orthodontic treatment that were necessary to fix her smile. William's Syndrome patients tend to have a lot of unreasonable fears, and her mother worried that Michelle’s fears would hamper the treatment. Michelle’s mother is proud not just of the successful results of the treatment, but also Michelle’s determination to go through some potentially uncomfortable and even painful procedures, just so that she could finish the treatment.

For Michelle and her mother, the Kiwanis club has been a Godsend, giving Michelle hope for a better and more confident life.

The club raises money through its annual cash calendar sales. They are currently looking at selling more calendars, so that they can increase their budget for free orthodontic treatment in 2009.