Tackling the tooth delay

C. in the dental clinic's chair

We finally left a dentist's appointment for C. un-cancelled. So, yesterday, a year after her last visit, her neglected teeth were examined and cleaned.

Another one of our daughters, the dear-near-dentist (she's in the midst of final exams) had a look at C.'s teeth two weeks ago. She was horrified by what she saw and kindly shared it all with me. Most scary was the wiggliness of C.'s front lower teeth, caused by her receding gums and her almost incessant teeth grinding.

The receding gums are in turn caused by yours truly. For years now, I've been happily brushing with this toothbrush

which I first touted here back in February 2013.

But all good - and easy - things must come to an end. It seems that that design doesn't clean the gums of larger teeth like C.'s. So on my dear-near-dentist-daughter's advice, I have just switched to a Paro brush. Now I find it impossible to brush all of C.'s teeth thoroughly with it. She fights me - pun intended - tooth and nail.

Well, at the dental clinic, it was suggested I tackle that challenge by either:

• Taping together a pile of  tongue depressors and placing them in one side of her mouth. Or
• Taping together two rubber wedge-shaped door stops, piercing the end of one and threading thread through that hole to enable quick removal at the first hint of swallowing by C. I kid you not!

I think I'll just keep struggling to keep C.'s mouth open by hand.

Now, to prevent the tooth grinding, the dentist suggested we purchase a custom-fitted mouth guard that she can wear day and night.

And finally, dear-near-dentist-daughter also urged me to have C.'s teeth x-rayed - something which has never been done. She said they can't be accurately assessed without them.

I dutifully requested them yesterday. But I was told that C. would probably not cooperate without somebody's intervention. Sure enough, when they tried, that's what happened. Since I wasn't willing to expose myself to the radiation in order to hold the film in place, we skipped the x-rays.

So, once again, C. was declared cavity-free. But, once again, we can't be sure she really is.

Smiling all the way from the dentist

We use these

It was back to the dentist for C. today. I just love that place and not only because it exclusively treats patients with disabilities. So far, C. has aced every visit. She’s 100% cavity-free.

I'd like to say it's my thorough care that's done it. But I only brush her teeth once a day and occasionally even less often. Perhaps it’s the state-of-the-art toothbrush I’ve used (over there on the right) ever since the dental hygienist recommended it a few years ago. Or the Modified Atkins Diet (virtually no carbs) which C. is still on for the epilepsy – it’s virtually carb-free.

In any case, today was particularly pleasant because we were in and out of the office after a cleaning and an exam (no x-rays) in a half hour. C. was as cooperative as always – wish she were less so.

The icing on the cake was the low fee charged thanks to government subsidization of the clinic.

I've already written about the restraints – a.k.a. “medical immobilization” – used at this clinic on the patients in order to eliminate the need for general anesthesia. [See my earlier post "A visit to the dentist", February 24, 2013] I was shocked to learn that some disabilities activists oppose them on the grounds that they are a civil rights violation.

C. in the dentists' chair today

This article ["Consent, restraint, and people with special needs: a review" 2009, M. Romer, Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health] from the journal Special Care Dentist, addresses the issues involved,  noting "This area is controversial and has even resulted in legal difficulties for some dentists".

I think that's all a load of bunk. Surely, when the only other option is general anesthesia, the choice is a no-brainer.

Until I learned of this clinic’s existence, I never brought C. to the dentist. The only other dental clinic in this city for people with disabilities insists on administering a general. And I wasn’t going to run the risks involved in that. So I just can’t fathom the downside to restraints.

How about you?