Trumpeting the power of braces

Try as he might, Lubo Rnic was the only child in his class who couldn’t produce a single sound. Seven years later, not only plays the trumpet, in March he will be playing in a school concert.

The 17-year-old owes this achievement to the skill of an orthodontist and the initiative of a speech and language therapist. Peter Thomas is the Bristol orthodontist who carried out Lubo’s life-changing orthodontic treatment and Sarah Barnett is the speech and language therapist who had a hunch that braces could help Lubo.

And she was right.

The story began when Sarah suggested to Lubo’s parents, Mihailo and Olya, that orthodontics might improve his speech and saliva control and eating skills – helping achieve less messy biting and chewing.