Pearly Whites

After we found out that we weren't going to find anything out, life just went on. The kids all were growing and happy. Healthy for the most part too. Our youngest daughter, Haley (that's her name), had new symptoms come up from time to time, but mostly life has been good and pretty close to normal. Believe it or not, none of her issues were a big deal at all. She went years without needing to see specialists. Everything was mostly fine. Unless you count her teeth.

Yes, the teeth. Who knows why she has so many problems with them. Her dentist says that she has reduced salivary flow and that they decay from the inside out sometimes. She has enamel and dentin deficiencies. She also holds her mouth open a lot, due to the hypotonia (low muscle tone). All I do know is that saving her teeth has been quite an adventure (and not in a good way). She had her first cavity (on the front side of her front tooth) when she was three, her first root canal when she was four. She has had oral surgery on three occasions, two of those in hospital operating rooms. We maxed out our dental insurance 3 years in a row. Her teeth decay in a quickness, so we have to be super aggressive in her treatment.

God gave us Dr. L just over four years ago. Haley's dentist at the time was concerned that she couldn't keep up with her mouth anymore and referred us to Shands at UF in Gainesville. We waited months for the appointment before she was seen. After they examined her, we were told that she was a good candidate for treatment there but it would be at least six months before she could have surgery there. They were afraid that she would have tooth loss in that much time, so they gave me the name of a new dentist in the city we were in the process of moving to.

That would be Dr. L. Haley saw her right away and had oral surgery within two weeks. From that time on, Dr. L will fit Haley in to see her on a moments notice. There have been months that Haley has seen the dentist at least once a week. The blessing of finding this dentist is that Haley doesn't mind going. Dr. L. has such a kind way of putting Haley completely at ease. For someone that has to go have work done so often, that is priceless. If there was a world's best dentist award, it would belong to Dr. L. She is trying to save Haley's permanent teeth. Unfortunately, she isn't a candidate for implants. While she has lost several, Dr. L. is doing everything she can to help Haley keep the rest of them. We don't know what will happen in the end with those teeth, but I sure am grateful that Haley has someone that is working so hard to help her.