Comments for blog.limedaley.com/post/two-days-of-appointments

Comment #3142

2024-01-17T12:29:49Z

Having talked with our own dentist, I know know that the fluoride that turns your teen black is silver diamine fluoride, which effectively stops decay in its tracks. I've actually had it before, but only in back teeth, and under crowns, so I've never noticed the color.

Comment #3141

2024-01-13T09:55:47Z

The attending dentist gave a different answer than the resident, which is confusing, since they were talking together.

He says that the front teeth are the most concerning, and as far as I can tell (I asked for a verification) that those are teeth are simple fillings, so I don't have a problem with that.

I brought her to the local dentist today, and though he hasn't seen the x-rays yet, he is confident he can do the front fillings without issue - he did say that sometimes the really small fillings can pop out, because there is so little to hold onto.

She has an appointment next week for the fillings, and he said if she is too uncomfortable to do all at the same time, she can come back every day if she wants. It is great living in a small town. This wasn't our dentist (he doesn't do small children at all, we already tried to bring her for a routine checkup when she turned 2), but another dentist down the street. Unfortunately for the rest of the patients who have scheduled appointments, he said he would fit her in wherever she needed, so we can hit the transplant deadlines.

The hospital dentist said they aren't sure if they can email the x-rays within 7 days, but hopefully my doctor can pressure them into releasing the medical records. My local dentist said the new digital x-rays aren't as bad as the old x-rays, so taking another one wouldn't be too bad, though I always like to avoid x-rays if I can.

Comment #3140

2024-01-12T19:47:11Z

I have a prescription-strength topical fluoride that I use every night at the suggestion of our dentist. It has not turned my teeth black, and I've been using it for years. I can give you more details of you want.

Another concern I have is that this dentist probably is also allergic to patients who move, and an avoidable round of anesthesia is probably not what Grace needs right now.

One thing that rings a warning bell in my mind, just something to be aware of, is that if they know you at all they know that you are unconventional in many of your opinions and practices -- and they don't know you well enough to realize how well that unconventionality has worked out for your family. I know that some doctors like to take advantage of having a child "captive" to cram in as much medical care as they think important, since they feel no assurance it will get done once the child leaves their custody. I know, that's horrendous -- but at least I'm not quite so cynical as to think they're just doing it for the money. (Like the former dentist I told you about privately.)

Comment #3139

2024-01-12T17:23:02Z

Thanks. I'll show this to Faith.

She hasn't had trouble with other people's procedures, but Noah fainted once (from a standing position, so that wasn't great, and I wasn't prepared for it so he fell down straight on a metal trash can) while watching Jonathan get stitches.

For the dentist, our doctor said they don't typically recommend procedures that aren't needed, but we still aren't that happy with them since the attending physician was in the room for 30 seconds, never spoke to us and only spoke to the resident behind closed doors, so doesn't give us a lot of confidence in his abilities.

We did once meet with a pediatric dentist who hated kids but just did it because it paid more than a regular dentist. He insisted that Jonathan would need general anesthesia that we didn't think was needed. We stopped by a different dentist on the way home, and I think partly to prove a point they accepted him on the spot and performed the procedure without any topical or anything since it was such a small filling. The first doctor just didn't like patients who moved.

We're expecting a phone call from our doctor after she talks to the dentist.

And yes. Children's Hospital is surprisingly non-child friendly. Our psych person is going to try to help in this regard though she said there is something that I don't understand what her post procedure looks like, so she is going to call as well.

Comment #3138

2024-01-12T14:01:19Z

As one of several in my family who passes out during blood draws, your description of what happened to Faith is similar to what happens to me. It appears to others like I am having a seizure, which I don't know about because I am out of it. I also get all clammy and sweaty. Once it is over, it is over. I've never had any repercussions other than whacking my head against a radiator during the "seizure" part.

And, it doesn't just happen when I am getting blood drawn (I have learned to ask to lie down before we begin, getting my head lower, or at least level with my heart is the best "cure").

I have passed out during other people's procedures as well. When I went in to sit with my mother as she got her IV attached (and I wasn't even watching), I was the one who passed out and woke up with a team around me. My mother said I kicked the nurse during the "seizure". Sorry.

Also happened in the recovery room after Bill's surgery. I woke up to see guys with a gurney from the ER waiting for me. I had to keep insisting I was fine and didn't need to go to the emergency room. (I can't believe it doesn't happen to others and that they haven't seen it before. I know my father, brother, and Tom, have all had this happen to them, to some degree).

I give Faith credit for 9 vials! If I have to give 2, they struggle to get enough. I don't know if my blood pressure drops or what. I try to drink a lot of water the day before I have a blood draw so that I won't have to come back a second time!

Sounds like Grace and Faith are both troopers! My love to you all!

Comment #3137

2024-01-12T13:37:53Z

I am refraining from saying what I want to, the way I want to say it, but after having given myself a few hours to calm down, I still have to say something. It's hard to know where to begin, but I'll start with wondering why something that calls itself a children's hospital would insist on keeping a tiny child, who has always been free, and who is going to be undergoing unimaginable trauma, in a CAGE for sleeping and playing. If this is not a tremendous misunderstanding, I sure hope you can enlist the help of her psychologist. (Psychiatrist? Whoever was responsible for her psych evaluation. I'm quite curious how you do a psych evaluation on a two-year-old.)

And don't most hospitals have bed a bed for a parent in children's rooms, since sick children do better with a parent sleeping near them? That became the practice at some point during my lifetime, and I thought it a very humane one.

If this turns out to be something absolutely necessary as part of her transplant, I'm sure you and she will weather it gamely. Otherwise, it has to be better to keep the psychological trauma to a minimum! And I remember you quoting one of the doctors, talking about precautions, as saying "This is not a Bubble Boy situation; we have to take psychological health into account." I suspect you are just running into authorities who think that even healthy children should sleep in cribs, and so don't understand what the fuss is all about.

Comment #3136

2024-01-12T13:24:18Z

So much for one day! We're familiar with the SDF option, but ended up doing fillings and caps under anesthesia for G. He also swallows still at 6, so we use Squigle Jr fluoride free. It has Xylitol which is great for teeth!

Praying for all of the details to have Faith room nearby, and uneventful draws going forward.