A fundraising campaign is underway to help a little Longford girl, who who will be two years old in April, get the specialist dental treatment she requires.
Cat Warfield set up 'Ayla's Tooth Fairies' to raise funds for her daughter Ayla.
Cat, who is a volunteer with Cuidiu and is the Peer to Peer Support rep for the Longford/Roscommon branch, explained, "As soon as Ayla's teeth started growing some of her teeth started chipping. Although she'd been seen by dentists several times, being diagnosed with hypoplasia, no one had been able to offer her any treatment because she's so young.
"The HSE dentist refused to even put her on the waiting list for treatment until she turns three. As time has gone on so has the damage.
"Thankfully we have recently found a specialist dentist who can treat Ayla. The affected teeth are now so badly damaged that she needs at least six of them removed and because she's so little it needs to be under general anaesthetic. She has an abscess and will likely develop more if they are not extracted. She can't bite with her front teeth and she's in pain."
Cat said Ayla is 'an incredibly bright, happy and dynamic little lady' and outlined that she began the 'Ayla's Tooth Fairies' campaign as the cost of the specialist dental treatment Ayla requires is 'prohibitively expensive for us'.
In addition to starting the 'Ayla's Tooth Fairies' gofundme page, Cat is hosting a coffee morning on Friday, March 1 from 10am to 12 noon in Longford Methodist Church Hall, Battery Road, Longford town where there will be teas and coffees and homemade treats. Cat will also be raffling a hamper of goods and services donated by local businesses valued at over €250.
