Well, I spent the morning on the phone and ended up canceling the root canal scheduled for tomorrow, and instead I got a last minute exam for this afternoon with a second holistic dentist office.

Let me first say, I knew I was out of my league when they offered complimentary drinks in the waiting room. If I had read the website well enough I would have seen the following description of their facilities and services:

From your first call to our concierge to book your visit, you begin to notice the extras we offer our guests such as the First Class leather airline seats in the reception area, your choice of movies during treatment, Bose sound-canceling headphones, hot towels at the end of the visit, and all that insurance red tape handled for you by our insurance specialist.

After arriving, I was given a tour, including a room called the “Oasis” where they sat and chatted with me about my dental health. They had a special room with a view for cleanings, a special room for general work, and then a specific room for removing amalgam fillings. It is a beautiful place to go and feel pampered.

Add to that, everything I saw and heard aligned very closely with my own health philosophy.

By the way, I did ask about pulling all my teeth out and getting dentures. I think I shocked the woman who was helping me. She said the procedure would be horrendous, as would the healing time, and that she would never recommend doing that, nor would their office support that choice.

So whatever that means.

Anyway, they said some things that made sense to me. Including three things I’d never really heard mentioned before with regards to amalgams and mercury.

1) Mercury is toxic. (Okay, I’ve heard this before. lol. Just never heard a dentist admit it.)

2) Mercury expands with age. (Which explains why inevitably my teeth crack around the filling.)

3) Mercury never properly bonds with the tooth, which creates opportunity for bacteria and eventually decay under the filling.

The X-Rays confirmed their assertion. You can see where my teeth are decaying BELOW the fillings. Almost from the inside out. This office wants to remove all the mercury from my mouth and replace it with hypo-allergenic stuff. The idea is that bacteria begets bacteria, and that the amalgams in my mouth are creating sort of a vicious cycle of bacteria/cavities… So the plan is to remove the amalgams and then target a change in PH in my mouth through cleaning, diet, and hygiene.

It was so interesting talking to a dentist who did not swear by fluoride. In fact, they insisted I avoid it.

The dentist also mentioned that my teeth are softer than most peoples. Which explains why the cavities deteriorate so quickly. It’s just going to be a fact of my life that I’m always going to have to be more vigilant than other people. The good news, though, is that I have really healthy gums and strong bones. For whatever that’s worth.

The point of prayer in all this is the price. Over $13,000.

Eep.

I just have no idea where we’re going to get that cash. We’ve been working so hard on debt snowballing, and now I feel overwhelmed. If there is ANYTHING about Dave Ramsey that I find annoying is the lack of advice on what to do when you are maxed out, and your health care craps out on you.

Bleck.

The dentist office has the whole process broken down into about six visits. The first visit will cost me $1500. They will file it on my insurance and I will get $700 back. The second visit will cost around $700. So there is the remote possibility that I can get MOST (Not the crowns or bridges) done for the top of my mouth with the stimulus check we were going to throw down on the van. (Still haven’t talked to Dh about that…) But after that, I just don’t know what I am going to do.

The biggest expense is going to be the bridges and crowns. If it weren’t for them, I think we could figure out a way to do this.

I tried not to cry. Again. When she showed me the numbers. In fact I held it together until she said that they want to wait to remove the tooth that is bothering me until AFTER all the mercury is out of my mouth. (Something about the possibility of mercury getting into the cavity where the tooth was pulled if it isn’t healed properly and we remove fillings…) I know they felt bad for me. The woman kept saying, “Just do this in small chunks.”

She has no idea how LARGE their “small” chunks are to our household.

Please, be praying with me as I find direction. I can’t do nothing. I need to find a path, a game plan, and forge forward.

Back in December my dentist had noted that the filling on one of my teeth had cracked, and told me to make an appointment for a cleaning and an exam. Well, they didn’t have an exam or cleaning appointment available and put me on a calling list. I contacted them in January about the cleaning appointment and was assured I would be called. Well, as it happens time flew. We either didn’t have the $$ to do the work, or the time… Excuse after another, until I noticed about a week ago that a tooth was bothering me.

I called and made the appointment for today and was told that the decay had progressed to the point that a root canal would be needed. He drilled the tooth, covered it with a temporary filling. Told me not to eat or drink on that side. Not to floss the tooth. And explained the root canal needed to be done ASAP because from now until then I would be in pain. He then handed me a prescription for Vicodin.

I was stunned.

As I sat there, frozen with questions. He proceeded to admonish me for being addicted to sugar and for eating so much sugar. He told me I needed to stop drinking soda, eating candy, and scarfing on ice scream.

It was like I stepped into a warped universe!

WHAT SUGAR!

GAAARRRRRRRRRRR!

I tried to explain that we are HFCS free, that we don’t drink soda, we don’t eat out. The few times we eat “forbidden foods” are few enough between occasions that I would hardly blame it for the state of my teeth! I told him about how often we brush and floss, I told him about using MI paste and doing oral dysinfections. I explained that the gum I eat is Xylitol based… the whole deal.

He shook his head and declared, “Well your mouth says differently. You have more cavities now then you did in December. At the rate your going you are going to have a lot more root canals on the future. This root canal alone is going to cost you -out of pocket- over two-thousand dollars. And that doesn’t even include the crown.”

It was at this point where I just started crying. I couldn’t even stop myself.

I feel so defeated.

I’m angry at my body for having teeth like this. I’m angry at the dentist for accusing me of somehow neglecting or willfully contributing to poor dental health. I’m angry that health insurance doesn’t cover TEETH. Since WHEN is the tooth NOT a part of my body and thereby a part of my overall health. HOW can it be legal to specifically exclude teeth from coverage?

Needless to say. Today I’m grumpy, and angry, and I just want to crawl into bed with my painful tooth and just ignore the world. I find myself wishing all my teeth would just fall out. They say that a third of the population will end up with false teeth. We all know it’s an inevitability for me. Especially at the rate I’m going. Why wait? Surely it would be cheaper in the long run?

DD1 woke up this morning and asked me if I could take her new teeth out and put the old ones back. I didn’t know what to say, except to tell her that they were permanent. Just like mine. I showed her the molar I had crowned two years ago and we compared teeth. She seemed satisfied with the explanation and hasn’t said anything else about it.

In other, unrelated news, I called the Early Childhood Intervention people back. I had contacted them on Monday, but hadn’t heard anything. So I called them again today. They told me that we’ve been assigned someone to manage DD2’s case and that they’d call me either today or tomorrow. I’m to recall them tomorrow if I don’t hear from them by late afternoon.

I’m really anxious for them to evaluate DD2’s speech. It’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now. For a long time I chalked it up to “well she’s just quiet.” But the truth is I am a bit worried. It would be nice for her to be evaluated and either A) declared normal or B) have a game plan for helping her learn to talk.

It’s not that she doesn’t say words. It’s that she doesn’t say them often. If you were someone outside her family, trying to listen to her, you probably would not understand anything she said. She’s not inclined to mimic sounds, and often uses words for objects that don’t sound like the object’s name. For instance, she says “ashes” instead of “cars” and “baht” instead of “potty.”

Every once in a while she’ll say something very clearly and articulately. And I’ll wonder if I’m just over concerned. But then days or weeks will go by before she really says anything else. I’ve also noticed, recently, that she does most of her communication non-verbally. Using made up sign language, facial and body expression to get her points across.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s a hearing issue. Or maybe it’s just that she’s shy? Truthfully, I have no idea.

At any rate, I’m eager to hear back from the ECI people.

I don’t know how I feel. I don’t even know how to begin this entry. I guess I’ll just start at the beginning.

DD1 had her dental procedure this morning. We showed up for her appointment at 9:15. Checked in, and then filled out a stack of paperwork before we were shown to room 7 for the pre-op run through. My mom came along and helped keep Dh and I company, as well as watch DD2 for us. It was so nice to have her there for the support. I’m not sure how we would have juggled it all without her.

The nurses gave DD1 some oral medication that made her drowsy, loopy, and apparently amnesic. If that’s even a word. They had her dress in hospital scrubs, and they gave her a couple plush toys that a local church had made and donated to the hospital. One of the toys was a little lipstick printed toy rattle. You would have thought it was too young for DD1. But she clung to it like it was her new best friend.

DD1 also got a wrist band and a little oxygen monitor attached to her. She didn’t particularly like the wrist band and kept trying to squeeze it off her wrist. We finally bribed her with the promise of a Popsicles and she stopped worry about it.

The anesthesiologists came in and talked to us about the risk of General Anesthesia. I held my breath through the whole talk and tried desperately not to look as afraid as I felt inside. The dentist also came in to talk to us about the process.

When I asked her about the tooth colored crowns for the canine teeth, she told me she doesn’t do them.
.
.
.
.

I’ll let that sink in.

She doesn’t do them.

Remember how I canceled the LAST surgery date over this? Or how we got into the confrontation at the dentists office over this? Or the fact that the LAST dentist we saw before agreeing to the procedure assured us that this dentist WOULD have tooth colored crowns available?

Well, forget it. Because it was all a lie. No such things exist. At least not today. And not while I was sitting there with my very still, and very drugged four year old daughter laying on my lap.

After a rather short talk, the dentist assured me that she would do everything in her power not to crown that canine tooth. She insisted that if she had to crown it that she would put a tooth colored composite face on it…

And so I conceded. Feeling slightly cornered and out of options. I kissed my daughter good by and they wheeled her off for surgery.

We spent the next hour or so sitting in the waiting room. Eating Whataburger and watching Jeopardy. I am actually surprised at how quickly the time passed. I expected to be there so much longer than we were.

They called us back to recovery around noon, where we waited for them to bring DD1 back to us. She slept in my arms for a few minutes, and then drank Gatorade. Her first “meal” since 7:00 the night before. You could tell she was still groggy and a little bit loopy. She kept rubbing and pinching her nose (where they had the oxygen tube) and she moaned about her mouth. But for the most part she did soo much better than I anticipated.

The dentist came in for the post-op run-down. She explained that DD1 had 6 crowns done and 7 fillings. She seemed glad to tell me that she hadn’t needed to crown the canines.

Now this is the part where things get confusing. Because, you see, I thought she meant ALL the canines. But turns out she meant the top canines. I didn’t realize until we were home that she’d crowned that bottom canine. The one that we’ve had so many arguments over. Not only did she crown it. But she did not put a tooth-colored face on it.

So there it sits. A big steel tooth in the bottom part of her smile. When she talks I see it. Clear as daylight.

I know it seems like such a superficial thing. But I cant get over feeling betrayed by it. Betrayed, angry, sad… They did EXACTLY what I was fighting so hard not to have done. I have to sit here with my game face on and smile excitedly at my daughter. When inside I’m raging at how unfair it is. How can ANY dentist who pretends to care about young children put a steel tooth in the middle of a little girl’s smile?

I dare that same dentist to accept that as an option for HER mouth! She wouldn’t! No self respecting dentist would put steel teeth into their own smile. They wouldn’t. And yet, because my child is a child, she is marginalized in this area.

I’ve already cried about it.

Secretly.

Because I can’t let DD1 know how angry I feel inside over it.

I’ve also already called the dentist and raged at them. They keep apologizing for the “misunderstanding” and asserting that I had the choice to leave.

Right.

Like I’m going to stand up and walk out of the hospital. Carrying my drugged child out the EXIT doors? Never mind the expense of it all.

I hate it. But I guess I’m going to have to start accepting it. Right now, I’m going to write this and then put it out of my mind. I feel so guilty for allowing them to do that to her. For not stomping my feet and yelling when the dentist told me that they were not going to do what they said they would.

Shoulda coulda woulda… and all that.

Meanwhile, DD1 just discovered her silver teeth. She came running into the office. Her eyes bright and sparkly. She opened her mouth wide. Pointed out her new teeth and then threw her arms around me. Gushing with child-like enthusiasm.

“Thank you, mama. Thank you so very much. I love them.”

On Wednesday, DD1 has her oral surgery. I’m spending more time trying not to think about it, than I really am not thinking about it.

If that makes any sense.

I’m waiting on the call from the hospital. They’ll be telling me what we need to do for surgery prep. Not to mention when to arrive at the hospital.

I hope we get an early morning slot. I know they have some strict eating/drinking rules for general anesthesia. I can’t imagine poor DD1 having to go all day (after going all night) without having food.

Anybody have any good post-oral-surgery meal ideas? I was thinking something like chicken noodle or pumpkin soup. Something soft, warm, and mushy. But still a treat to eat.

ETA: We got the call to have her in the hospital by 9:15 a.m. Her surgery is scheduled to begin 2 hours later. She’s not allowed to hae any food, milk or juice after midnight and only clear liquids up until 7:00 a.m. The instructions are to brush her teeth the night before but to NOT brush them the morning of the surgery.

Gulp.

It’s getting close!

Today DD1 had a follow up dental appointment with the same dental office that we originally scheduled her surgery. Remember, that’s the one we canceled because they said they weren’t able to use tooth colored caps. Anyway, the dentist I saw today is the one that specializes in the new “kit.” He examined her mouth and ran new X-Rays.

He said her teeth didn’t look nearly as bad as he’d imagined, given what was written on the report. There is a remote possibility that one of the upper front teeth may need to be pulled rather than capped. Guess it depends on the extent of the damage.

He reassured me that they would only use tooth-colored caps and that they would not put steel in the front teeth. He seemed like a really like-able guy and he talked to me directly and answered all my questions. He’s also the first dentist to ever address nutrition as it correlates to cavities. AND he’s the first dentist I’ve ran into in IRL that called the cavities an “infection.” Which IMO is a more accurate description of early childhood caries.

I’m feeling so much better after todays visit.

Surgery is scheduled for December 12th. It’s a Wednesday. Which, it turns out, Dh has to work. I think I’m going to have to talk my mom into coming with me to the hospital.

What do you think?

I’m still waiting for a reply from CiCi’s. I emailed them a letter and haven’t heard back. I don’t know how long I should wait before enough is enough. I guess I don’t know what a reasonable time frame would be? A week? Three days? Two weeks?

Sigh.

In other news, DD1’s surgery has been canceled. We have her wait-listed for another dentist within the same practice who supposedly knows how to do the new “kit” that has tooth colored crowns for anterior teeth. Initially they tried to insist that no such thing existed. Then they argued that the cost was exorbitant. It wasn’t until they heard my husband declare, “Then we won’t do it. We’ll just let these teeth fall out. I won’t have my daughter walking around with steel teeth in her smile.” that they suddenly remembered they had a dentist on staff who was capable of doing tooth-colored crowns on children.

Sigh.

We walked into that dentist office today hoping we would walk out feeling encouraged. And instead I feel even more conflicted. In fact, they got me so befuddled and anxious about the color of the crowns that I forgot to confirm that they’d be using a tooth colored mercury free filling. I hate that they aren’t scheduling us for a pre-surgery appointment. What about all the questions I have?

Tomorrow I’m going to do something I’ve been meaning to do for months. I’m going to fax all of the documentation we have, over to the dentist in Fort Worth. He is a mercury free ped’s dentist. I have a feeling he’s going to be expensive. But maybe, he can tell us if he concurs with their assessment, and maybe he can give us some direction.

Please be praying about that. I hate that I’ve given over $2,000 to DD1’s dentist. I wish I had done more research before handing that money over.

Wow, we’re quite the family this week. Yesterday Dh had a follow up appointment. He’s now on antibiotics and stronger pain meds. The poor man is recovering, albiet slowly. The doctor continues to insist that this is inside the “realm of normal.” So we’re running with that, and Dh is taking it easy.

Today at 8:00 a.m. (in a little over an hour) I go into the dentist to have my front left tooth (lateral incisor) checked out. When I called the dentist to tell them that the tooth cracked while I was flossing it, I accidentally called the wrong dentist office. Apparently a doctor by the exact same name has moved in across the street from my doctor. Consequently I spent a good chunk of time on the phone insisting that “Yes, I’m an established patient. I’ve been there a number of times. I was just there a couple months ago!” It took a while to figure out that I’d called the wrong place. By the time I called the correct dentist I was flustered and stammered to the receptionist, when she asked why I needed the appointment, “The other day I was flossing my tooth and it cracked. Errr, I was flossing my TEETH, I mean, and this one tooth cracked.”

Dh, who had witnessed the whole exchange, nearly choked on his own saliva and burst into gales of laughter at the thought of me with a singular tooth in my mouth. Diligently flossing it until it cracked.

He may think the thought of me, with only one tooth, is funny. But I find it a horrifying possibility at this rate.

Needless to say today I have a dentist appointment. Tomorrow I have to pick up my parents at the airport, after which I have an appointment to have my knees checked out. I can’t remember if I mentioned it or not, but I started the couch to 5k program and promptly hurt my knees. To such a point were, by the end of the day, I’m a virtual cripple. I’ve really done some damage, it appears.

My left knee in particular hurts. I’ve never had knee problems before. I mean EVER. So the idea of having a knee injury really bothers me. I can’t help but wonder if this injury isn’t somehow related to the accident and the stress that caused on that entire leg.

Thursday Dh goes back to work, and Friday he has a final follow up appointment with his doctor.

Then Monday DD3 has her two month well-baby and we leave straight from the doctors office to the airport where we’ll catch a flight to Denver.

Needless to say, we’re up to the eyeballs in doctor visits for the next week! *shakes head* Wish us good health. Apparently we need it!

DD1’s dental surgery is scheduled for December 5th, 2007. The day before I turn 28 and 4 days after DD2 turns two. I think, this year, I’m going to have ice cream instead of cake for my birthday. I’m certain that her little mouth will be too sore for cake, and I don’t think she needs to go through anymore pain than necessary.

I’ll admit that I’m feeling all kinds of anxiousness in my heart over this decision. Not just the financial end of things, but also because this is surgery. The very real kind. Complete with general anesthesia. Makes me want to cry every time I think about it.

We’re squeezing her into this year because we don’t want to roll over to January and lose the insurance help we’ve got set up. Having the baby, the accident, and Dh’s work done has meant that we’ve more than met and exceeded our deductible for the year.

As a side note. We have spent upwards of around $15,000 in the last 12 months on medical stuff. Yes. That’s fifteen THOUSAND. No wonder I always feel broke…

The cliff-notes version of our dental hygene set up in our bathroom:

8 toothbrushes

- 2 per person so that they can dry completely between brushing. This will hopefully prevent against bacteria build up in the brushes. I also intend to disinfect the brushes once a week with a peroxide rinse or a hot water soak.

Spry toothpaste with flouride

- this is made with Xylitol which is a great resource in the fight against bad bacteria in the mouth. For more information on Xylitol google “Xylitol” and “dental care.”

Spry mouthwash

Mouthwash cups

-No more sharing cups. Which means each person needs their own individual mouthwash cup. Right now I’m thinking of just buying cheap disposable cups… Although the non-disposable hippy in me is thinking about maybe finding four little glass votives to keep in the bathroom. I just need to find a way to identify each one so that nobody ends up sharing.

MI paste or Oravive.

-To be used at night right before bed and right after brushing. This is to help with remineralization of the tooth.

Dental Floss

- I purchased a pack of those disposable flossers from the Dollar General. 50 flossers for a dollar. Much cheaper than the Xylitol floss at Cox farms… although without the added goodness of xylitol, flouride, or any other anti-caries agent.

Oral Disinfection Agent

-I’m still not sure what course of action I plan on taking. Chlorhexidine is the recommended route, but there are issues with it causing tooth staining. Not to mention I just saw a study that says it disrupts vitamen K absorbtion and Vitamen K2 is the special “X Factor” that we’re trying so hard to introduce into our diets. Other options include Essential Oil rinses. Although I do not know how a person figures out the right quantities. I did see a Tea Tree Oil Mouthwash at Cox Farms that I’m considering as soon as someone can confirm for me whether it’s worth it or not. Otherwise we may just end up using Listerine. Oral Disinfection is done for one week, twice a day, once a month.

Cotton Swabs for oral disinfection

Xylitol Gum

- We need to ingest about 6 - 8 grams of Xylitol a day to help disrupt the bad bacteria in our mouths. I’m choosing to use the gum option although there are candy and mint options available. The key is the Xylitol needs to be in-mouth for about 5 minutes. Which, for me, makes the gum idea the best plan. 1 piece of gum is 2 grams of Xylitol. So 2 pieces three times a day should be pretty close to sufficient.

The above listed items are part of our “medical” dental hygene approach to dental care. We’re also making significant dietary changes. I’ve written about a lot of that in another thread. But the cliff notes version is”

Greens/Veggies every meal.
Protien
Reduced/eliminated refined carbs and sugars
Raw Milk
Bone Broth
Cod Liver Oil in the morning with 4 ounces of OJ.