Allie was born with enamel hypoplasia, basically born with no enamel on her teeth. This makes her teeth very prone to cavities and other issues. Allies dentist has been great and we have been watching her teeth closely for a while now. In addition, Allie's oral development is delayed - not just in eating but in her teeth development as well. Allies back molars came in but her gums never receded, therefore they are very close to her molars. This is a prime spot for food to get stuck and it's almost impossible to get out. All of Allies 4 back molars are severely affected by this along with the fact that they have no enamel on them. Allie's back teeth are decaying and we need to do something about it even though they are baby teeth. She will keep these 4 molars until approximately age 12.
The only way to save these teeth is to cap them. She will have 4 metal caps put on her teeth this coming Wednesday. Due to Allies medical history and her fear of procedures, surgery, needles and everything else associated with doctors, her dentist requires us to have this procedure done at the hospital under full anesthesia.
Allie goes to her Pediatrician on Monday for a check-up to make sure she is well enough for surgery and then on Wednesday, Allie will have the caps put on her teeth at the hospital.
Allie will be sore after surgery because they have to grind down her gums in the back by all 4 of her teeth. In addition, her dentist said that having the metal caps will change her bite and it will feel like she has marbles in her mouth. So, it's going to be uncomfortable no doubt but I am thankful for her feeding tube in case we have any issues with her not being able to eat even small amounts.
This is not a major surgery but just the fact that she has to have this procedure done at the hospital and that I have to hand my baby over to the doctors AGAIN for her to be under full anesthesia, is scary. As many of us know and experience, it never gets easier handing over your child to the doctors - if anything, it gets worse. Allie is now 4 years old and knows what is happening - she's been through surgeries before and she knows what to expect.
I'm positive everything will go smoothly and we will get past this hurdle with no major issues, but please keep little Allie in your prayers next week as she goes through this. She is one tough little girl!
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| Our little Allie Rae |
I had very similar problems with my teeth as a small child due to my severe corn allergy. My teeth actually came in black (rotten) and I had to have all of my primary teeth pulled at age 4.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous - thank you for leaving your comment to raise my awareness of a possible corn allergy. Seems as if everyone who leaves comments on my blog about a corn allergy stays anonymous. It would be much more helpful to me and my daughter if you would leave your name so I could possibly contact you and gain valuable information on the effects of a corn allergy.
DeleteMy daughter is 3 and has been put under full anesthesia more than a dozen times already. I know from experience handing over your baby for a simple PE tubes procedure feels no different than handing her over for a major bowel resection. I hope everything went well and little Allie is recovering nicely.
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog a couple months ago by chance while I was researching mic-key buttons. My daughter had one placed on 9/24/12 due to her poor food intake. Kenadie has Hirschsprung's Disease and was a late diagnosis at 20 months (usually it is caught hours/days after birth). Having a severely diseased bowel has conditioned Kenadie that food is painful. I know how horrible it is when your baby won't eat and there's nothing you can do about it because you don't know what "it" is. I wish you all the best and look forward to your updates! :)