TEETH, TEETH, TEETH

Ever since Noelle had multiple teeth, which was when she was about a year old, I’d already noticed some white stuff on her upper front teeth. I would try to brush it away or even scratch it off with my fingers, but it wouldn’t come off. I asked around and I was told that it was normal. I was worried but I ignored it. I kept thinking that Danae has perfect teeth, so it’s pretty certain that Noelle will have the same. MAN, WAS I WRONG!!!

About over a month ago, I noticed that the white stuff was becoming brown. My worst fears (regarding my kids’ teeth) were coming true. I consulted with a dentist who is a friend of ours, and when she saw Noelle’s teeth, she told me that the white stuff is due to decalcification already. I was horrified! I truly felt like a failure. She gave me advise and I tried to stop breastfeeding, since Noelle practically stays attached to me the whole night and therefore the milk lingers in her mouth and causes her teeth to rot (though breast milk isn’t as bad as cow’s or powdered milk). A few days after that, when I was playing with Noelle and I put her in sort of an up-side-down position, I saw that the back of two of her upper teeth were already completely brown! I quickly had her scheduled for a cleaning. King took her to her Ninang Liza because I was not feeling well on the day of the appointment. I was happy to hear the report that she was cooperative while on the dentist’s chair, though she did cry. We were advised to apply tooth mousse on her teeth once every night after brushing, and to clean her teeth, even with just a cloth, after breastfeeding. Brushing before nap time and bed time is not enough.

I felt a little bit more at ease, but when we got to Coron, I noticed that one of her teeth chipped. And the brown stuff seemed to get worse. Noelle is only 1 and a half, so you can imagine the worry and the apprehension in letting a dentist cover her teeth with pasta. How many teeth need to be treated? How much will it cost? How long is it going to take? WILL IT INVOLVE SEDATION? My 2 yr-old nephew went through the same thing and I felt somewhat assured because I could go ask my sister-in-law about it.

To make the long story short, we were able to have Noelle’s teeth treated without sedation!!! When the pediatric dentist was poking her teeth to look at them, Noelle was completely cooperative. But when it was necessary to put a clamp on her mouth to keep it open, so as not to get the pasta wet with saliva and allow it to dry, that’s when all the screaming began. It was like listening to a squealing pig that was about to be butchered!!! The dentist stopped and removed the clamp for a bit, when she was finished with one part, to give Noelle a break. She was really strong too, so I had to let King be the one to hold her after the break. Whew! What a relief to know that my daughter’s teeth need not deteriorate further. We do have to continue applying or brushing with the tooth mousse, and to see the dentist every 3 months for some calcium treatment, if I remember correctly. And no more juice! We rarely give Noelle juice these days to help keep her teeth strong and healthy. Juice is acidic, and therefore contributes to the weakening of the teeth. Even though we still have the night time feeding and occasional day-time feeding, at least we have countered the spread of the cavities. We’re praying they stay isolated and none of her other teeth suffer the same problem.

A word to pregnant women! Do not neglect taking your milk or your calcium tablets! It’s important to give your babies a head start. If you don’t, your babies could be pre-disposed to weak teeth, like Noelle. Trust me. With my eldest Danae, I drank my Gerber for Moms milk twice daily. Even though I couldn’t take my calcium tablets, Danae’s teeth are perfect to this day. She’s almost 5 and no cavities at all. Well, not yet anyway, haha. Plus it helped that her first tooth came out when she was 10 months old, as opposed to Noelle whose first came out at 7 months. I did not drink any milk nor take calcium meds when I was pregnant with Noelle because I had a more difficult pregnancy with her. So now I’m suffering the consequences. I figured that my neglect is partly to blame for my very young Noellee to have dental problems. Thank God we still have a chance to make things right with her, especially when she loses her milk teeth and her permanent teeth come! And thank God her smile is unaffected — still radiant, beautiful and captivating! 🙂