1st dentist visit-possible gum disease???

[damarasmom]

We had a Dr. visit to make sure that Damara sleep issues are NOT related to ear infection etc...
Well, she is fine and it is simply (or not so simply) night terrors...GRRR.
Anyway, the Dr. noticed that Damara has swollen / red gums and needs to go to the Dr. She is suspecting some gum disease.
I could not believe this! She is doing very well allowing me to brush her teeth and they are so clean and white, I never suspected! WEll, I was shocked.
She is on antibiotics now to see if the swelling might be from her hands being constantly in her mouth and MAYBE it's bacteria??
But in the mean time we have an appt. with a dentist for next Wends. I KNOW...she should have gone by now, but we don't have any insurance due to both of us out of work and I didn't think it was a 911 situation...
Any tips on how to prep a 3 year old to participate in a dental visit?
Any words re: gum disease? Experience???

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

Don't you have "Medicade" for your daughter? Do you get social security? If you do get SSI, then why didn't they get her some insurance too? I don't know the "rules" in Texas. Maybe Jackie knows. I think there is someone else out here from Texas but I can't remember who. My Brookster will have health insurance for the rest of her life. I hope it's not just a Oregon thing. I should hope it would be an everywhere thing for differently abled people. Maybe i'm wrong. My hubby tells me there are only a couple states that provide insurance for our kids. Hmmm... who knows how much he knows ?Hehehe... Brook went to the dentist at one years old. She already had 12 teeth. They came in fours around here. It was a trying time let me tell ya. I know nothing of the gum disease but i do know that my oldest, when she was little, had to have antiboitics due to living on the farm and always wanting to play w/ the animals and then hand in mouth before i could get her to wash and squirt anti bacterial squirt on her hands. Good luck at the dentist. Kids dentists are pretty nice. I think cuz they don't wanna get bit. Hehehehehe

[damarasmom]

We don't have SSI or Medicaid for her. We were rejected they stated that we made too much money from Unemployment! Go figure...and the private ins. companies wont cover her pre-existing or anything related to her pre-existing, which is just about everything...we are in a tight corner. I have contacted our governor office and they are looking into this for us, but for now...out of luck!

[Haleysmom]

Medicade under the Federal Program "Katey Beckett" sp does NOT look at your income. It looks at the childs' income. Contact your Mental Health or SSI dept and ask about the medical portion of assistance for her. Haley is 11 and we have had it since she was 1. Good luck.

[damarasmom]

Thanks for the heads up. I will call tomorrow. It's so hard to get any answers out of the government and they just say "NO" and don't say anything else.

[andrewsmom]

Hi Shirley!! Andrew has not been checked by a dentist yet. We tried....but he wouldn't even go in the room let alone get in the chair. It was terrible. We are planning on trying it again in March. He actually didn't even have any teeth until he was over a year old.

Sorry I don't have any advice here. Let us know how it goes.

-Trisha

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

The goverment reminds me alot of IEP's/teachers. The more you hound them, you'll eventually get YOUR way!!!

[mydsgirl]

My daughter Emma has been going to the dentist for several years now. She is 6 yo. At her dentist office, they don't allow the parents to go in with them. This is probably better. I do know that she bit the dentist one time. Anyway, they are able to check her and clean her teeth.

I don't know anything about the gum problems I just wanted to let you know Emma does fine at the dentist without me in there with her.

Good luck!

[Chris too]

Be sure to pick a dentist that has a good personallity and who kids like - ask around. This will not necessarily be a pediatric dentist. The ped dentists in our town are notorious for giving nervous kids gas at the first sign of trouble - even for a check-up. Our dentist is a grandmotherly type who's son is also a dentist in the same office. They seem to like each other - a very good sign My kids love these two and do not have a favorite. I found them when my #2 dd cut her 2-yr molars complete with cavities before erupting Katie loved the "special boss chair" where she got to hold the TV remote & decide what to watch on the TV, and she surprised me by being supremely obedient to this grandmother-dentist in opening her mouth for examination, & allowing her to clean her teeth with her "funny spinning toothbrush." This woman took time to let Katie touch the toothbrush with her finger, and inspect every instrument (helped for Katie - no surprises). She even had her cavitites drilled & filled next appointment without even a numbing shot (baby teeth have no nerve), and no gas, and no tears or fears. We went out of there smiling. I was allowed to be in the tiny room with the baby on my back, but past the 3rd visit decided Katie didn't need me to be in there anymore. I let all of the kids go back now without me - even on their first visit (except for Stevie who visited at 1-yr-old).

If you can get a great dentist like that, you'll have no worries. One bad dentist experiences colors all future visits, even with switching dentists. So do some research, ask around, call the offices, even have a visit to meet the dentist (maybe a tooth-counting visit). You'll be much more comfortable parting with the $ if you can avoid the tears.

Best wishes & happy hunting!
Chris too

[laurasnowbird]

Just some random thoughts.....

I don't know if your daughter has any sensory issues, but if she does it would do well to alert the dentist. Most kids will do better if a doctor, dentist, whatever......actually asks their permission before touching them, often starting with their hand and working their way UP to the mouth.

If there is some question of gum disease, and the possibility that the exam might be painful because of it, I would inquire about giving her an anti-inflammatory like Motrin prior to the procedure to minimize her pain, KWIM?

And I agree with Chris about the dentist's personality being important. Honestly, the WORST eye doctor we ever saw was one who was a pediatric eye doctor. The woman just didn't LIKE kids! Bedside manner is so much more important than pediatric specialty for a first visit.

[damarasmom]

Thank you all for your help with this. The Dentist has come highly recommended by the peditrician and she stated that she sends all her patients to him and gets very good feed back! Keeping my fingers crossed.
We have begun "counting teeth" and opening wide, she is doing very well with this, and talk about how the dentist will count her teeth and look in her mouth...she says "OK"...let's see what happens when we actually get there!

[Connie]

You maybe pleasantly surprised. Kids sometimes react differently than you expect...they step up to the plate and do what needs to be done. Especially if you are not around to influence their behavior.

Chris too and I live in the same town actually about 3-5 miles from each other and I echo her thought on your best bet may not even be a pediatric dentist. Collin saw a ped. dentist 1x when he was 18 months old, every since then he has went to the same dentist as me and my other 3 kids (DH sees his childhood dentist) Some visits are better than others but he has always at least got his teeth polished and flossed. Sometimes the metal tools send him over the edge. He has even has pano xrays taken!!! Stood up there like a real trooper!!!

Connie