Innovation Improves Orthodontic Treatments in Holguín

An innovation in Holguín province is improving orthodontic services, one of the dentistry branches most affected by the tightening of the US economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba.

Diana Rosa Fernández González, a specialist at the Manuel Angulo Clinic in the provincial capital and creator of the initiative, told the ACN that the device corrects crossbite, a common disorder in children benefiting from this service.

Addressing a Common Dental Anomaly
The specialist explained that this anomaly occurs when the lower teeth cover the upper teeth, causing an outward-to-inward impact and preventing the normal growth of the jaws.

According to Fernández González, the innovation involves adapting a bilateral expansion screw to operate unilaterally, which allows for the correction of the malformation and improves patients' quality of life.

She added that this modification uncrosses the affected side and promotes the normal and symmetrical growth of the jaws, restoring their function in the child's development.

Averting Future Surgery Amidst Resource Constraints
José Eduardo Díaz Morell, a second-degree specialist and lead professor of the service, emphasized that the anomaly, if not corrected in time, requires surgical intervention to recover jaw function—amidst the resource limitations faced by the healthcare sector.

He explained that these bilateral-action screws exist in storage facilities, so their adaptation substitutes for the lack of the original devices, whose importation is impossible as they are manufactured by US companies.

Improving a Child's Life and Well-being
Ada Martínez Díaz, grandmother of a boy benefiting from the treatment, stated that the innovation has considerably improved the life of her grandson, Gabriel Peña Martínez, not only by gradually recovering his normal functions but also due to the psychological implications of this condition.

Dentistry faces limitations in supplies, consumable materials, and prosthetics, which complicates treatment for school-age patients, one of the most vulnerable groups in light of the strengthening of the genocidal policy that generates millions of dollars in annual losses for the Cuban economy.