This weekend I was brushing Casey’s teeth, no big deal. All of a sudden I noticed an odd piece of something in her mouth. She was actually playing with it. She had her tongue pushing it up against the back of her teeth. I finally managed to get her tongue out of the way and pulled the object out. I could not believe what it was. The bottom front 4 teeth I think we have posted about before. They started growing pretty early on, then when Casey got so sick everything stopped. During the stop time her teeth really changed. They are discolored and oddly shaped. When things started growing again they grew a little bigger, but the damage was already done. We later learned that teeth are a common problem with brain injured kids. We also later learned that the teeth are the first thing the body starves when it needs to preserve.
Anyway, back to the story. So I pulled out this object. I was thinking it may have been some plaque or maybe even some food. Even though Casey doesn’t eat, she does have reflux and spits up from time to time. I was way off. The object was actually the back half of one of her front bottom teeth. Not the top half, not the right, the back half. I did not even know teeth could split that way. The good news is that she did not seem bothered by it at all. I was a lot more freaked out by it than she was. If anything she seemed curious. When I told her OT what happened she was so excited to hear that Casey was moving her tongue around to check it out.
Tim and I had talked with her ENT a little while back about needing to get her in to see a dentist soon. He gave us a few names of people he has worked with before that should be good with Casey. It has been on our list of things to follow up on for a while. On the list, but not very high. Needless to say it got moved right to the top. Since she is not in pain they did not think she needs to come in right away. Casey is going to her first dentist appointment on March 23. It is just a consult. When I spoke with them on the phone they felt it would be best to start with just meeting Casey and letting the doctor get to know her and her special needs.
Today was a good day. Shortly after lunch Ken, Tim’s brother, called. He was in Austin for a quick day trip and had a little extra time. He was able to swing by for a nice visit. Casey always loves company.
I think that is about it. Casey has a pulmonary appointment on Monday. I will be sure to post next week to let everyone know how it goes. As always, we wish everyone well.