Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Kayli's dentist finds floating teeth!

Kayli went to the dentist yesterday. The roots for her two front teeth, and one other tooth died when she was without oxygen for the 32 minutes.  With the roots being dead, the teeth have nothing to "root" them to her, and they are now floating under her gums. 

There have been many times where we thought Kayli was teething in her upper jaw, but we have yet to see a single tooth completely come through her upper gum.  With Xrays, the dentist found that she has a mouthful of upper teeth that have come in (broken through bone)!!  We do not see the teeth, because her top gum is hiding them.  So, all those days when we could have sworn she was teething but could not see the teeth...we were right! 

The dentist is talking with the periodontist (gum dr) to discuss when the ideal time would be to cut back her gums (via laser surgery).  She will not have to be sedated while the surgeon cuts back her gums.  

Things to be considered before surgery: 
1. Baby teeth guide and hold a space open for the permanent teeth to grow.  Once Kayli's gums are cut back, the floating (non attached) teeth will fall out.  This will delay the eruption of her permanent teeth because they will no longer have a guide/saved space.  
2. Kayli's upper jaw is growing upwards instead of horizontally in line with her bottom jaw.  This is because teeth will continue to grow until they meet resistance/touch a reciprocating surface.  Kayli's gums are secluding her top teeth, so they have not been able to grow to touch the bottom teeth.  If the gums are cut back, her upper baby teeth will grow down to reach her bottom teeth.  This may eventually bring her jaws back into a functional position.  
3. Is cutting back the gum now going to make enough of an immediate direction towards positive change, or will it be more beneficial to wait until the permanent teeth start coming in before cutting back her gums?
4. Will the delay in cutting her gum worsen the jaw position?
4. Will Kayli need additional surgeries to correct her jaw, defeating the sole purpose of immediately cutting the gum/delaying the permanent teeth's eruption.

The overall visit was an exciting one, as we learned Kayli has been cutting her upper teeth!  Her teeth are all present and accounted for, and each tooth seems to be in it's proper position!  Kayli miraculously only has 3 roots affected from the 32 minutes of anoxia (lack of oxygen)! The dentist was impressed with the condition of Kayli's teeth! Kayli tolerated the x-rays and hands in her mouth, with minimal irritability, allowing us to get a good view of her development!  

While on the Ketogenic diet, we are to watch everything going on and in Kayli's body.  Today, the dentist used a carb free product to clean her teeth, and suggested using Tom's toothpaste for daily brushing!  




 

1 comment:

  1. Thank you a bunch for sharing this with all of us you actually realize what you are talking about! Bookmarked.
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