Girl, 17, Dies After Trendy Orthodontic Procedure

[george]

Girl, 17, dies after trendy orthodontic procedure

KHON KAEN: -- A 17-year-old schoolgirl in Khon Kaen died of severe infection resulting from an orthodontic fashion procedure performed by an unauthorised practitioner.

The autopsy report on Juthamas Chaiyason cited "thyroid poisoning" and "cardiac arrest" as the causes of death.

She died on Sunday in the emergency unit of a local hospital, after complaining of severe tooth-ache for several days following her trip to have coloured braces fitted. The braces are fitted by dentists as a purely cosmetic procedure with no physically beneficial effects, but unqualified practitioners also offer the service.

Poisoning and infection

Juthamas's parents took her to hospital on August 20, 10 days after the braces were fitted, where the girl was diagnosed with thyroid poisoning and cardiovascular infection and sent home with medication.

Her mother, Niannapha, reports that Juthamas passed out the next day after having trouble breathing. She was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead on Sunday night.

Dentist Rattana Thong-kham expressed concern about the trend for coloured braces, which are becoming popular among teenagers.

-- The Nation 2009-08-25

[Scott]

How very sad.

[Sisaketmike]

I feel so sorry for what has happened.......how many times did something like that happen before? I thought coloured braces would have physically beneficial effects? Just a money making business? How should a mother understand that it was just a trend that killed her daughter? Dear Thai teachers; time for you to get all information about that stuff to let our students know that they don't need this. My condolences to the parents who lost their daughter......

[Heng]

The trend has been around for some time. Gals well into their 20's and even 30's do it to create a teeny-bopper/teenager type look. They know they don't need this, it's like any fashion, they simply want it.

[dale8]

Hello, my condolences to the family. Do we know if it was the material that caused the poisoning, or was it the technique used to attach the braces to the teeth? Someone should be investigating the shop and person that worked on her teeth, and they could be negligent in the death of a healthy teenager. It is so sad that this kind of thing happens.

[G54]

A sad case. I was also under the impression that these braces were there to straighten the teeth and not simply as fashion accessories.

[Lithobid]

18-30yr olds try to look 15 in Asia, 15 year old westerners want to look 30.

[noungning]

i thought there were snap on types which isn't this risky. why would someone who doesn't need "real" braces get them, suffer thru pain for something you don't even need to deal with...OMG. i hope this is a message sent out to many other teenagers that are doing this to "fit in". i'm sure many broke teens are also milking their parents for these also...what a shame, what next?

i feel awful for the parents, they wanted their daughter to be happy, but now she's gone. condolences to the family.

i hope those unauthorized "dentists" get some kind of punishment.

[Sarpedon]

Very sad news. Condolences to the family.

[Tigs]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

[Losangels]

i hope those unauthorized "dentists" get some kind of punishment.

I agree, but seriously doubt it.

[jamesjdaly]

Poor girl. We can only imagine what her parents are going through. RIP

[andyc2006]

Unnecessary cosmetic procedures and fashion trends have been with us for a while, and they're here to stay.

Yeah, that's sad, but it's not the real issue here. Think about it -- tattoos and even pierced ears (or other body parts) fit the same trend. Braces on straight teeth aren't any more inherently evil.

The major issue here is the unlicensed practitioner who installed the braces... reminds me of a guy (unlicensed in the USA, former doctor from South America) doing liposuction from his house in Florida a few years back. He was jailed when one of his patients died. Will Thailand jail the unlicensed practitioner? Will that deter others from doing the same thing (or will they realize that Thailand is too busy with airport and school uniform crackdowns and becoming the education hub to stop them)?

A secondary issue -- in my opinion -- is the hospital's questionable treatment. However, being Thailand, that (the doctor's treatment) will never come under scrutiny. After all, he wouldn't be a doctor if he didn't have the right parents, so how could he have screwed up, given his lineage?

[Ijustwannateach]

It was inevitable and it is sad. As soon as you make something fashionable, people are going to feel pressured to conform to be with the 'in' group. When you combine that with medical equipment, sooner or later people are going to push the boundaries of what is legal to get the effect without the real price, and maybe even without the need (these 'cosmetic braces' are being used frequently by those with no real need for orthodontic work). While I'm all in favour of making such uncomfortable appliances less unattractive, perhaps the equipment makers should have considered the problems of making them *too* attractive- and the quacks, of course, need more oversight.

[new2bangkok]

Wait, please explain to me, girls in Thailand actually wear braces because they think it's "cool"?

When i was in highschool, braces were the uncoolest things ever. If you had braces you were sure be picked on by the bullies and you would be called Braceface, nerd, etc.

[puyaidon]

In the university where I taught before, it was not so much as to appearance but to give the impression that you were rich and came from rich parents. I have even seen teachers 40 years old wearing them. 40 years old, she must have been to another planet but she was always kind of stupid anyway.

[Ijustwannateach]

^ and ^^ Unfortunately, it is as you say- bizarrely. That is because the size of the braces has shrunk- they are more like adhesive pads connected by nearly invisible wiring. The outside of each pad can be covered with a colourful plastic cap, and these plastic caps can be easily changed. So you see kids wearing braces with all-pink, all-blue, and every other combination of colours for each tooth up to and including a full rainbow effect- and this can be changed on each visit.

Furthermore, since braces are very expensive, they have also become a kind of status symbol here. Boys and girls, both.

[raro]

Wait, please explain to me, girls in Thailand actually wear braces because they think it's "cool"?

When i was in highschool, braces were the uncoolest things ever. If you had braces you were sure be picked on by the bullies and you would be called Braceface, nerd, etc.

That is unfortunately true. Braces are considered nowadays as fashion item and also put in if no correction of the teeth is necessary. Let's hope that this was a wake-up call.

Condolences to the family.

[Camelot]

...even my dentist (male in his 30s) wears them. They sparkle when they catch the light.

I wore genuine braces when I was at school and there was nothing trendy about them then.

Hated them but they served a purpose.

[TAWP]

I know several women in their 26-32 that wore them recently. All had real ones and got them when them as soon as they could afford from their jobs after university. Hence the delay of age.

[geriatrickid]

Thyroid poisoning?

Was the deceased given thyroid hormones, because that is what usually the cause.

Something isn't right with the information in the article. Was there underlying heart disease or a thyroid problem?

Although there is a definite link between "gum" disease and heart infections, this just seems to be way over the top.

Either something is lost in the translation, the writer is making this up or that was a very sick girl before she underwent the procedure.

Sorry, but I don't believe this.

[animatic]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

Hi Tigs, I hear you.

My Mrs. insisted for the longest time to get a nose implant,

she found a reputable MD and it was done cheap well and fast AND SAFELY.

She does look very nice with it and feels better about herself... fair play, 6,000baht.

But a friend of ours tried the 1,500 baht version, seems some brain dead katoey was touting

nose impant injections... using chicken cartilage... like breast backbone... INSANE.

But this lady did it, before I had the opportunity to say; NO DON"T!!!!!!!!!!

and her nose got royally infected and swelled and then she had to

have a real MD scrap the crap out, but by that time it was eating the real nasal cartilage

now her nose is collapsed like a impotent grandpaw.. so incredibly sad.

The perpetrator of course sodded off, though we later heard 'supposedly'

died suddenly in another province and had few mourners... Who knows.

TIT.

[animatic]

Thyroid poisoning?

Was the deceased given thyroid hormones, because that is what usually the cause.

Something isn't right with the information in the article. Was there underlying heart disease or a thyroid problem?

Although there is a definite link between "gum" disease and heart infections, this just seems to be way over the top.

Either something is lost in the translation, the writer is making this up or that was a very sick girl before she underwent the procedure.

Sorry, but I don't believe this.

If this was a renagade shop I was wondering;

What metal was used top make these chopshop braces?

The wrong type could have dealdy effect, such as high led content would or mercury.

This was rather fast.

What were these made of?

[iko]

What have tattoos to do with this stuff? Please let's not talk shit. Tattoos if done by professionals are totally safe. The problem here - i suppose - is that the 'doctor' was not a doctor. BTW, those things happen every day also inside hospitals and clinics. Sometimes it happens, just that. That said, it's really sad to die for a stupid thing like that.

[krading]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

I know a few girls who want to have this done because they don't like their 'Lao nose'.

[MrHammer]

Unnecessary cosmetic procedures and fashion trends have been with us for a while, and they're here to stay.

Yeah, that's sad, but it's not the real issue here. Think about it -- tattoos and even pierced ears (or other body parts) fit the same trend. Braces on straight teeth aren't any more inherently evil.

The major issue here is the unlicensed practitioner who installed the braces... reminds me of a guy (unlicensed in the USA, former doctor from South America) doing liposuction from his house in Florida a few years back. He was jailed when one of his patients died. Will Thailand jail the unlicensed practitioner? Will that deter others from doing the same thing (or will they realize that Thailand is too busy with airport and school uniform crackdowns and becoming the education hub to stop them)?

A secondary issue -- in my opinion -- is the hospital's questionable treatment. However, being Thailand, that (the doctor's treatment) will never come under scrutiny. After all, he wouldn't be a doctor if he didn't have the right parents, so how could he have screwed up, given his lineage?

Yes, this has medical malpractice written all over it. How the hel_l do you send someone home who has thyroid and cardiovascular POISONING?!! Seriously that has to be the stupidest thing ever! Even I know that the heart is not something to be taken lightly. Sadly this is probably a case of no insurance and greedy doctors. I just hope Samitivej and Bumrungrad don't suffer from this.

There's also the element of Thai stupidity and not caring about who performs the procedure. This definetly made me think twice about using the local dentist. Best to stay away and only go to hi-so hospitals. Seems like the only place to avoid morons.

Also, someone needs to tell these women that it isn't fashionable, but rather makes most people think they're poor because they didn't have money to get their teeth fixed as children.

[Thongkorn]

Condolences to her Parents.

As i have said in the past , if you want a pair of tits put on your fore head they will do it in Thailand, Money number one, In most other country's you would get sociological counseling .

[Datsun240Z]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

Indeed. Woman are fine who they are. But they always will keep doing those crazy stuff.

[sokal]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

Hi Tigs, I hear you.

My Mrs. insisted for the longest time to get a nose implant,

she found a reputable MD and it was done cheap well and fast AND SAFELY.

She does look very nice with it and feels better about herself... fair play, 6,000baht.

But a friend of ours tried the 1,500 baht version, seems some brain dead katoey was touting

nose impant injections... using chicken cartilage... like breast backbone... INSANE.

But this lady did it, before I had the opportunity to say; NO DON"T!!!!!!!!!!

and her nose got royally infected and swelled and then she had to

have a real MD scrap the crap out, but by that time it was eating the real nasal cartilage

now her nose is collapsed like a impotent grandpaw.. so incredibly sad.

The perpetrator of course sodded off, though we later heard 'supposedly'

died suddenly in another province and had few mourners... Who knows.

TIT.

I really like the look of the cute Asian noses. why would they want to change their cute little noses ?

[Datsun240Z]

I came home a couple of months ago after a few days away, only to go '<deleted> mad' as my young sister-in-law had been and had a latex implant put in the bridge of her nose to raise it, as her Thai boyfriend wanted her to have a more 'western nose'! The boyfriend left her three weeks later, if I catch him he wont need gender reassignment to be female. Girls over here are going to crazy lengths to be fashionable. Many girls are having treatments involving injecting Latex!!! This has caused many horrific complications as some 'practioners' have been using industrial Latex. I think the coloured brace thing is all down to the 'ugly Betty' craze, I know there is an Asian equivalent soap started up, aimed at teenagers.

Condolences to the family

Hi Tigs, I hear you.

My Mrs. insisted for the longest time to get a nose implant,

she found a reputable MD and it was done cheap well and fast AND SAFELY.

She does look very nice with it and feels better about herself... fair play, 6,000baht.

But a friend of ours tried the 1,500 baht version, seems some brain dead katoey was touting

nose impant injections... using chicken cartilage... like breast backbone... INSANE.

But this lady did it, before I had the opportunity to say; NO DON"T!!!!!!!!!!

and her nose got royally infected and swelled and then she had to

have a real MD scrap the crap out, but by that time it was eating the real nasal cartilage

now her nose is collapsed like a impotent grandpaw.. so incredibly sad.

The perpetrator of course sodded off, though we later heard 'supposedly'

died suddenly in another province and had few mourners... Who knows.

TIT.

I really like the look of the cute Asian noses. why would they want to change their cute little noses ?

Same idea as the want to be white.