Addie had her first dentist appointment today! Of course, we have been meaning to take her for months now, but since I was studying for the bar this summer, let's face it: all non-emergency appointments were pretty much on hold. Anyway, so the other night I was helping her brush her teeth and I took a peek at her molars. They were a MESS! I completely flipped out. It looked like one of them was broken and it was really rough to the touch. I was convinced that I was going to be awarded the "Worst Mom Ever" award because I was positive it was a huge cavity. I told JM about it and he said it was probably nothing, but the next morning, I showed him and he got quiet and said, "Oh my gosh." It really looked that bad. So I called yesterday and got an appointment for her today.
We went to Franklin Pediatric Dentistry and I was SO impressed. Addie walked in the office and her eyes lit up. Everything was so kid-friendly! She immediately went over to the coloring table and sat down. When they called us back, she was still pretty excited. Overall, she did well. In fact, she was very cooperative with the dentist (who was AWESOME) until the end of her exam. She took a little coaxing to get her teeth cleaned but ended up opening wide for the marshmallow-flavored toothpaste :). Unfortunately, for the fluoride treatment, we did have to hold her down. But we had to have that done. It turns out that Addie's "huge cavity" I saw was really enamel hypoplasia. In short, she has little to no enamel on her molars, and the enamel on the rest of her teeth is malformed. The dentist explained that this is usually due to some event that occurs when the teeth are being formed (likely, a high fever). Interesting, huh? He also said that we are doing a great job taking care of her teeth and to just keep going with what we're doing. She will be very prone to cavities because of this, so we'll have to keep a close eye on it. We are so blessed that she has no cavities at this point, because we would have likely been facing a surgery to cap all of the molars with crowns (the surgery due to her age and need for sedation, not necessarily the damage to her teeth).
Because I was so worried about this appointment, I didn't bring our camera!
4 comments:
Phew! I'm glad it went well overall, and you've got that sometimes dicey milestone behind you! Thank God for pediatric dentists - can you imagine trying to take her to a regular dentist? You sometimes have to pry MY mouth open. About the enamel issues - Becca will very likely have the same issue -- her teeth are even coming in with black spots on them. I'm glad you got it diagnosed so you can keep an eye on it. I hope this doesn't come across mean -- I think you will understand -- but it's kind of comforting to hear about a "normal" kid having the same issue as Becca. Maybe she is a normal kid, after all. ;) Of course, I'd rather neither of them have to deal with it!!
I LOVE taking my kids to a pediatric dentist. I think it makes such a difference.
Oh man, I just saw this! I'm glad your visit went well, but that is terrible about the enamel problem. I've never heard of that. I'm dreading taking Adie to the dentist. We may have to find a pediatric dentist in Murfreesboro or something.
:) Nancy, you know I don't take that the wrong way. I completely understand what you're saying. Here's hoping both our sweet girls will have beautiful, healthy, enamel-covered permanent teeth!
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