Friday, October 17, 2008

Quick update

Thanks everyone - for taking the time out to leave a comment yesterday.

Yesterday morning we called our dentist here in town to see if he'd look at Nathan and give us some direction. He didn't call us back yesterday, so we're still in limbo.

The teeth that are the most affected are his back molars. Justin was told that they don't fall out until around age 10 or 11. He's almost 6 1/2 right now. I don't believe that they would put tooth colored fillings in the back of his teeth, so that makes me think that the tooth colored fillings will go somewhere else. I'm going to have to call and ask. Natey's already complaining of pain, so something, for sure, has to be done. I had Natey open his mouth for me last night, and I could see large brown spots between his two molars on both sides, up and down.

For a few years now, Natey's had what I thought were allergies. I'm rethinking all of it now. We'd give him allergy medication, but it never really helped. I mean, it was kind of a surface cure, but nothing really major. The second Justin told me that Natey had to have so much work done, I instantly thought that Natey's 'allergies' is really acid reflux. It also quite possibly explains Jack chronic runny nose.

But first things first; we're seeking a 2nd opinion. My BFF from high school is a dental assistant and sent me an AWESOME e-mail. Thanks for laying it out the way you did, Shell. You had so many great points. Lori B - thanks for your input as well. Everyone - thanks for giving me the opinion that I asked for. I really appreciate it.

As always - stay tuned.

Have a great weekend.

5 comments:

Andrea said...

Hey Kerrie! I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday......

Obviously I agree on the second opinion, which you are already checking into.

Are you sure your dental insurance won't cover the anesthesia???

I had five teeth pulled back in Feb at an oral surgery place and I requested they put me under (bc I'm a big baby). They had no problem doing that for me. And my dental insurance covered the anesthesia; however, I do not know if my orthodontist had to write a letter or not to the insurance company to get it covered. Maybe yours can do that so you can get it covered???

Also, when my son was 6 he had to get two crowns bc he had huge cavities in the teeth. They said they could pull them but then they'd have to put spacers in so the other teeth wouldn't shift bc the permanent teeth wouldn't come in for another 6 years. That seemed like a long time to have gaps so we went for the crowns.

I agree! That's a lot of work to be done. I think it'd probably be best to get it all done at once - and under anesthesia. I know it's a lot of money, especially on baby teeth, but personally, I would do it (if the second opinion is the same, of course).

Just Mom said...

Anytime, Kerrie. Keep us updated. I've been thinking about your little guy a lot.

Kari said...

I don't know a heck of a lot about teeth, and I know nothing about putting kids under. I do know that we have an AWESOME dentist in Howard. He's new this year, and we have a sliding scale fee based on income.

He'd be really honest with you and he's good with kids. His name is Tracey Grossman at Prairie Winds Dental. They will work you in quick if you tell them your situation.

I hope you get things figured out. I'll be thinking about you.

Tess said...

Glad to hear you have a second opinon coming. I hope that things turn out ok. Gosh, that is a lot for a little mouth..

Gruis Family said...

Kerrie,
I just started reading your blog through Tracy.
second opinion is a good idea. My Jacob was about 5 when we had his work done. Rapid City though and was a Pediatric Dentist. They did put him under. He had two of those pulp things done, fillings and some silver crowns(called them silver soldiers and he thought he was really cool!) and since they are going to fall out they really dont' need to be the pretty porclein ones. Insurance did cover the anthesia and all that, beucase they did it at the same day surgery center for him.
I contemplated the surgery but if they are really bad they can affect the permanent teeth also that are coming in underneath. After they are done, ask them to seal his molars so that they are a little more protected. I take Jacob for a cleaning every 6 months and he swishes with ACT. He has had 1 small cavity in almost 4 years or so.
Good Luck! I love reading your blog, you remind me of an old friend and you make me smile with some of your bloggin!
La Jena