On Loose Teeth and Tooth Pulling

It's been a bit, but I thought it would be fun to answer some reader questions today.  Jaci asks "my son is 6 and has down syndrome...I noticed yesterday that he has his first loose tooth. Any helpful tips to not scar him by holding him down and yanking on his tooth? Or tips for him to not swallow it? We are looking for a good book to read to him about losing teeth and hope that will help. He's also our oldest child so we haven't ever dealt with this before at all! Thanks in advance"

Great questions, Jaci.  When we started noticing that Whit had a loose tooth, we taught her to wiggle it for herself.  She would wiggle it with her tongue or with her fingers.  This helped Whitney to see that it didn't hurt to have a loose tooth and that it was something normal.  It also helped the tooth get ready to come out.  

To avoid having to pin your son down, I'd keep an eye on how loose the tooth is getting.  When it seems like it'll come out without too much pulling, I'd distract him with a story book or favorite TV show and attempt to tug it out.  It's tough to gauge how ready that tooth is though.  Once, Melanie and I waited too long and Whitney lost the tooth during the night, likely swallowing it.  And another time we had to pull hard enough that Whit was pretty upset by the time it came out.  Another time I think she just wiggled her own tooth out.

Talking about how the tooth fairy will come to bring some money or a treat may help to help build anticipation and distract from fears too.  Melanie and I didn't really read a book with Whitney about the whole process.  But that's a great idea.  Amazon has tons of children's books on the topic featuring Clifford, Arthur or the Berenstain Bears, among others.

I hope that helps a bit.  Changes can be tough for our special needs kids.  But as parents, we can try to help ease them through.  And Whitney now thinks it's hilarious to smile in the mirror and show off the gaps in her mouth.  Pretty funny stuff.  Good luck!

Got a question about our adventures with Whitney?  Leave a comment or send me an email.  I always love hearing from everyone.  And thanks for reading!

Sedated Heart Echo

I want to apologize for the lack of activity lately.  I've been travelling for work and such over the last month.  But Whitney is doing great and I have lots to share about her recent experiences and progress.

In the seven years I've been covering Whitney's adventures, I've never really covered cardiology.  Many 1p36 Deletion patients have heart defects or other concerns that require careful vigilance.  Several of our friends in the 1p36 community have children who underwent open heart surgery within the first few months of life.  Whitney was spared that struggle, but due to the concerns over 1p36 Deletions and heart health, we see a cardiologist every few years.

Last time Whitney was in for a heart checkup the doctor discovered that the structure of Whit's heart is normal.  But it doesn't beat with the same big beat-small beat rhythm that your heart and mine do.  The cardiologist said that it wasn't an immediate cause for concern but that we would watch things over the years and see if the situation changed.

So last Friday Whitney went in for a sedated heart echo.  To get a good look at her heart, we always have to sedate her.  Otherwise she's just too fidgety.  While she was asleep the technician took all kinds of measurements, still images and video of Whitney's heart in action.  These will be sent over to the cardiologist who will let us know how things look.  We don't have the results yet.  Specialists seem to take forever to get in to.  But I'll be sure to share when they come in.

While Whitney was asleep, we decided to take advantage of some sedated dentistry as well.  Her pediatric dentist came by and took her first good dental x-rays and also removed one of her baby teeth that was obstructing an adult tooth on its way in.  The dentist said Whit's x-rays looked good and that her teeth seem healthy.  That was welcome news.  The dentist also saved Whitney's tooth so the tooth fairy could come again.

Whitney has had some history of being upset and disoriented coming out of anesthesia, but she did great this time.  She was calm as she woke up and Melanie was right there with Whitney's music to keep her occupied until she was released.  All in all, it was a very smooth day at the hospital.  Whitney was a very good sport, especially since she had to go without food the morning of the tests, due to the anesthesia.

Now we're just waiting on the cardiologist to get back to us.  However, if there was anything serious, I'm sure he'd have called by now.

The Special Needs Tooth Fairy

Typical children our society have a pretty good grasp on currency by the time they're old enough to start losing their teeth.  In fact my four year-old son, Liam, is getting pretty good about asking for his allowance on Saturday after he's had a good week helping out around the house.  However, Whitney is now eight and beginning to lose her baby teeth but she has no clue about money.  The only time she shows any interest is when she steals Liam's piggy bank and shakes it because she likes the sound.

As you can probably guess by now, this is all leading up to an important question.  What does the Tooth Fairy bring a special needs child?  Whit lost her second tooth over the weekend.  When she lost her first one, she swallowed it.  (We think.) So Melanie and I were kind of off the hook.  But this time, we've got the tooth in hand.  And we'd like for Whitney to have a positive experience related to losing teeth.  It's been kind of traumatic for her so far.  We don't need to go into it too far but something about having a parent hold her mouth open and pull on her teeth doesn't sit well with her.

So to make things more positive, we're considering having the Tooth Fairy bring some candy or a bag of chips!  That'll probably seem pretty strange to most people but those are some of the things Whitney enjoys most.  At dinner, if she eats well, Whitney asks for chips instead of dessert.  And she's always digging through the diaper bag looking for hidden packs of Smartees, Pez or other crunchy candy.

So I guess that's what we'll try.  Should be entertaining to try and stick a bag of chips under a sleeping child's pillow.  No wonder the Tooth Fairy usually just opts for cash.

Have any of you other special needs parents out there been through this?  How did you handle the Tooth Fairy in your home?  I'd love to hear some of your stories.

Finally Lost That Tooth

I wrote about Whit's wobbly tooth a couple weeks back. Then shortly afterward she was having a bath. Melanie swears Whit still had the tooth when she put her in the bath, but when it came time to get out and get dry, there was only a hole instead.

At this point we're not sure if she swallowed it or lost it in the tub. If that's the case it probably went down the drain. Either way her first little lost tooth is really lost. It's amazing how fast my little girl is growing up.

Also, it looks like the adult tooth coming in is pretty big, but if Whit keeps growing my hope is that it will fit in place just fine.

Tooth Time!

Other than brushing Whitney's teeth we haven't given her mouth near as much attention as her ears, eyes, heart and other high priority parts. Her baby teeth all fit in her little mouth and in fact a couple of her top teeth never showed, further allowing the others the room they needed. And that's been the status quo for years.

But Whitney's got her very first loose tooth. It's nearly out. Just hanging by a thread. And yesterday, when Melanie took a peak, she could see the new, adult tooth coming in behind it. So we've got to get that baby tooth out, which will probably be traumatic given, Whitney's oral aversion. Hopefully, no one will lose any fingers in the process. But we're worried about something else too. The adult tooth that's starting to poke through is actually larger than the one it replaces.

I'm a little concerned that all these new adult teeth aren't going to fit very well in my little girl's mouth. Whitney's dentist has said she'll likely be a candidate for some orthodontic work to ensure she's able to bite and chew once the adult teeth come in. But I'm pretty worried about it since Whitney probably won't understand why we'll be hurting her mouth.

I guess we'll just take things as they come. At least Whitney can look forward to her first visit from the tooth fairy in the next couple of days.