Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Izabel's First Trip To The Dentist


Today, Izabel went to the dentist for the first time. We were a little nervous as to how things were going to go. Izabel has a new found fear of doctors since her leg was fractured. We've been reading books and talking to her about this appointment for some time now. (We've been on a waiting list for 6 months!) She seemed okay with things.

We got up this morning and headed out the door with the hopes that she would at least let them look in her mouth if not do anything else. We came into the waiting room and she played with Emmy while we waited. The nurse called us back and we went into another little waiting room to meet the doctor and have a chat. Izabel was then asked to watch a cartoon before her check up began. It was a cartoon featuring Dudley the Dinosaur and was all about the dentist visit and what to expect. She watched it, still in shock from seeing the doctor in the room.

Once the movie was over, Izzy really got nervous. She knew something was up. The nurse led us into the check up room and Izabel climbed into the chair very cautiously. Things were okay up until the point when they asked her to lie back and they reclined the chair. Her eyes got so big and I thought at any moment she was going to cry.


No tears were shed and Izabel did fantastic! She let them clean her teeth and polish them. She was a little leery of the tools, but they made sure to explain to Izzy what was going to happen and let her touch and play with each. The magic sucking straw was a little difficult at first, but eventually she closed her mouth and let them suck up the water from her cleaning.

I was so proud of her and of course she was rewarded when the doctors gave her a new Princess toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and some trinket toys.


So now to the difficult part. Difficult for me because even though Izzy did great, she was not released with a clean bill of health. I've not been a very good mommy.

Izabel had 6 cavities. Five of them are small but the sixth one actually needs a crown. My jaw dropped when I heard the doctor go over her check up. I mean, we brush twice a day and about 2 months ago we started her on flossing.

It all boils down to Izzy drinking milk (and Soy Milk is even worse) before bed and of course her mother's genes of bad teeth.

We have a new routine to start that will include some fluoride treatments before bed. The water here in our city does not contain fluoride, so this will help. We also have to make sure she brushes her teeth a third time, after she finishes her milk for the evening.

If your still reading, and you think all the above is bad enough, you'll never believe how they are going to fill her cavities and do her crown. Tmrw morning we are awaiting a call from a doctor who will schedule us to see the dentist and anesthesiologist who will be putting Izabel under while doing the work. That's right. Izabel will be put under in a hospital (Children's Mercy) while her dental work is performed. She will then recover a little bit before being released.

Totally scary I know! I asked a bunch of questions and have found this to be more common than I thought. However, I am still nervous. If anyone has had experience with this, I'd love to hear from you.

So there you have it. My name is mommy and I have let me child become a victim of cavities...

More Photos On Flickr!

23 comments:

SAH in Suburbia said...

My daughter has a cavity between her two front teeth. At 2 years old they wanted to put her under to fill/cap them.

We're only working with that one cavity (so far) so we decided to wait and see what happens...if it doesn't spread too much we'll let it be and eventually those front teeth will fall out....

We may be faced with the same situation that you are..and SOON!!

I can totally understand your feelings - my daughter drinks rice milk (dairy aggravates her eczema) and we think that was a major contributor to her tooth decay.

Totally scary, yes, for sure. I felt like a horrible mother but I've learned that it's just the way it works sometimes....despite our best efforts!

Good luck!!

janese said...

so cute!!!She is so behave:-)Wish to have a little girl too:-)

tommie said...

I do hope all goes well. I see a trip the the toy section for a MONGO reward!

We need to find a dentist here. We had a wonderful pediatric dentist in TX. Thankfully the kids have hubby's teeth and not mine. I have a mouth full of metal!

Meg said...

Oh goodness, that's a lot for a mommy to take in. We don't have flouride in our water either, I dread my little guy's first dentist visit.

She did beautifully here, such lovely pictures you got!

mommy to Kaden, Brody and angel Ava said...

Kaden actually had a dentist appt last Friday. He DID cry as soon as they started leaning the chair back...ok, let me back up, as soon as he sat in the chair. It just got worse when the chair was going back.

If it makes you feel any better, I think some people are just born with soft teeth while other's get the strong teeth. I too, get cavities easily and have since I was little. My sister is the total opposite. I even remember when I was younger the dentist telling me that I take better care of my teeth then my sister, but I have soft teeth. So don't feel too bad about the cavitites. Once she gets her permanent teeth there is some type of "coating" they can put on them to help prevent cavities.

Kaden didn't get his teeth cleaned Friday, they are going to put him under for that!!!, but he has a MAJOR fear of hospitals and doctors and isn't the biggest fan of people sticking things in his mouth. I hope things turn out well and maybe it will eliminate any fears she might get if they did not put her under.

The Bryant Family said...

I will check in on you later. I am sure she will come through it with flying colors.
It does make me rethink letting Tucker drink his pediasure at night and he wants to take it to bed with him now. You are not a bad mommy for letting her do that...not in the least. You would think Milk, calcium, good for bones and teeth right. I would. :)

NannyJ said...

Don't worry so much mommy, cavities happen. She'll be fine. xoxo

Unknown said...

We just went through this with my grandson. It took forever to find a dentist who would even see him at 16 months old but he had to be put under for what they thought would be fixing 10 out of us 12 teeth. After they got him under, they did x-rays and only had to fix the front four. :) He did great and his teeth look so nice now. :) The worst parts for him were getting taken away from mommy and waking up from the drugs. But later the same day he was back to normal. :) I hope she does as well. :)

Ane said...

All of my kids will be doing this in the next few weeks! They have missed a few scheduled appointments, I think I am more nervous then they will be...lol! Your little one is so cute and so brave!

Rachel Dominguez said...

You are doing a great job!!! Don't blame yourself. When my youngest son, Coleson was a baby, he got a high (very high) fever. This was before he ever had teeth. But when his front 4 top teeth came in, they came in with NO enamel. So at the age of 3 they had to put him under for 2 hours and do baby root canals and gave him baby veners (sp?). THey were silver in the back and white in the front. He is 7 years old now and finally has lost two of those and new beautiful teeth came in, and he still has the other two to loose.

My point is...it is more common these days and they only put them under a very MILD anesthetic. You will be nervous, but she will be just fine. It is much easier this way at thier ages.

Good Luck!

Muthering Heights said...

What a brave girl! I hope everything goes well for you!

Laura said...

Thanks for stopping in! Your girls are beautiful!!

Sass said...

Gah. Milk before bedtime is one of my misdemeanours too.

I'll have to change that routine. I didn't have a filling till I was 26 - I was hoping Peaches might inherit my good luck.

My Three Sons said...

Hello,it seems like we are in a blogging circle because I have seen your comments on Rhett, Kaden and Ava, and now Rachel. So I thought I would come over and introduce myself. First off, your two girls are just beautiful. You have captured some really great pictures of them.

My oldest had cavities due to drinking whole milk at bedtime as well. He is 13 so he made it just fine. I have a two year old who has trouble sleeping at night due to severe asthma and he will usually ask for milk at 2 or 3 in the morning. So I guess I'm in the same boat as you. GUILTY.....that doesn't make us bad parents. I know our intentions are good and that is all that counts. You'll have to let me know when your appointment is. Carson is also having surgery at Children's on Oct 16th and will be staying for a couple of days.

Anyways, stop by and say hi sometime and don't worry. I think this is so much better to put her to sleep than rely on laughing gas and her sitting still.

Midlife Mom said...

You are NOT a bad Mommy! These things happen. The lack of fluoride in your water has to be a contributing factor. She was a brave little girl, it's no fun going to the dentist. That little smile when it was over is just precious!

Thank you for praying for us this week as we adjust to losing Buddy. We are doing a bit better each day but it's going to take some time to get used to not having him here with us. We are blessed to have had him for 16 years! xoxox

Michelle said...

It looks like she did great! Kayla has a Dudley visits the Dentist book :) Don't feel bad about the cavities...a lot of it is genetics and I'm thinking that unfortunately Kayla is going to be following in my footsteps! I still get cavities despite brushing 2x a day and flossing...I just had 2 cavities filled a few months ago and it's so frustrating!

Karen Coutu said...

Sorry to hear about the cavities. You're not a bad mommy because Izzy has cavities. My parents rarely let us have candy and we always brushed our teeth, but I had a million cavities when I was little.

I've got to tell you that having cavities filled on laughing gas was painful for me as a child. I felt everything. Their way might be better, although I don't know what risks there are for putting a child her age under.

Keep us updated!

Oh, read this please http://3garnetsn2sapphires.blogspot.com/2008/09/somebody-thinks-im-brainy.html. And I am going to post about the award on A Blog of Goodies tomorrow. ;P

Bren said...

It happened to use with Big Sis and she had crowns on her front two teeth at 18 months. I learned my lesson giving her juice in a sippee cup all the time.

That last photo is priceless~

Casey's trio said...

Oh my goodness...big hugs to you and Izzy. I know how nervous you must be.

Dawn said...

Awww... don't blame yourself.

I'm praying everything goes well or did go well with the surgery.

Sometimes I feel bad that my kids don't drink milk. But, I guess I should be thrilled they love water.

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