Well, with all the fun issues that come with Regan having cerebral palsy....I have a new one to try and solve. What do we do about her teeth? I know this is very odd, but I would love some input from others. Okay here is the lowdown:
Originally her mouth was very small for her permanent teeth, and then she fell in her walker at about age seven and chipped one of her front teeth. The dentist fixed it by puttung a little "fake part on there"
Then her doctors/therapists told us she needs to really brush her teeth on her own because not only is it good for her fine motor skills.....I mean she is 13 people....I can't brush her teeth for her. She brushes her teeth every day, but just doesn't do a great job, because she has a difficult time controlling the toothbrush, and doing all she has to do.
Basically her teeth look awful...but at least no cavities so far. They are a yellow that no amount of bad brushing seems to fix, and the fake part on the front tooth is now discolored, and she has two more teeth that now have no room to go growing in from her gums in front of other teeth. Her mouth is basically a mess.
The dentist has of course recomended an Orthodontist that we are going to see in January. We are sure that he will want to discuss an expander and braces with us.....but I can't even imagine Regan taking care of teeth with braces on them any better than she takes care of her teeth now. I am sure we will end up with a mouth of rotten that we just covered up with expensive orthodontia.
If it just weren't the most sadistic awful thing in the world I would have all her teeth removed and just have dentures made. Then she could take them out and clean them or soak them overnight! I know.....bad mom thinking my teen would be better of with dentures
I guess I need to figure out if I fight her own pride and therapist recomendations, and brush her teeth for her....or what kind of other options am I not thinking of?
Thanks for any ideas you guys float my way
6 comments:
I have wondered the same thing about our Brayden. He eats nothing orally and putting things in his mouth...well not so easy. We did have a dentist attempt to check him while he was tagging along with his brother's appointment and of course the dentist said to brush and brush. I wondered if he would volunteer to come and do it.
I guess that would be a new therapy goal, brushing teeth.
We just took our CP guy to the dentist this week. He is always amazed at how good Michael's teeth are but he has a HUGE mouth with very large spaces in between his teeth--that really helps! He has better fine motor skills than Regan and brushes his teeth by himself every day (but just once). Also, he isn't into sweets and I swear, food isn't in his mouth long enough to cause any problem. What I wanted to say that I thought might be of interest to you is that he has a bit of an overbite but the dentist does not want to put braces on him because it makes it much harder to get your teeth clean. My advice (worthless as it is) would be to remove a few key teeth that will give Regan more room in her mouth and between the teeth. Also, if you haven't already, have them sealed so that it is much harder for cavities to get hold. You can always have her teeth professionally whitened when she gets a little older.
I don't know if this will make any difference or if it's even feasible since there is a weight issue. Does she use an electric toothbrush? I had gotten a sonic toothbrush to try from Buzz Agent and it really made a difference on how clean my teeth felt. The backs were really slick and didn't feel like there was anything left on them after I finished brushing. They are expensive and a bit heavier than a regular toothbrush but the they are easier to grip due to the diameter of the motor.
I too had a small mouth as a kid. I had a palate splitter (maybe they call it the expander these days) that helped widen and gave my teeth more space. Otherwise, I agree with Heidi's advice. Pull some teeth to make room.
Other than that, I'm sad to say I have no great advice to give for I have a foot in the same boat. Only Logan is unable to brush his teeth at all and I struggle to brush them for him. His teeth too are very yellow with a lot of build up. Sad thing is that he doesn't even eat or drink anything by mouth and they are still that bad. Going to the dentist is very traumatic. In fact, next time he gets his teeth clean, we have to go to the hospital. He'll have to go 'under' in order to get a thorough cleaning. It's that terrifying for him and me.
No advice here, except I think now would be an awesome time to use the resources of other CP moms you may have met online to ask what they've done. Also, are there any CP dentist specialists in your area? But, as long as she doesn't have any cavities, I would say don't worry about whitening them until the braces are off. No point in trying to whiten them now if they'll get yellowed again. AND I'd have the front tooth veneered maybe when they whiten, otherwise it will look very odd to have one white front tooth and all the others yellowed!
Can you try the agent blue mouthwash? Its cool cause it shows that you REALLY need to brush and theres a post brush rinse too to show what you've brushed off!
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