Annie's Dentist Appointment

I took Annie to a new dentist today that I thought would give her a little more involved care than our previous dentist, and he surely stepped right up to the plate!  I had thought that it was getting to be about time for another hospitalized dental cleaning under general anesthesia, but our previous dentist (which we only had for a year since we moved here) only vaguely mentioned hospitalized cleanings as something we would consider more in the future.  But after Annie's new dentist saw her today, he quickly agreed that she needs it now.

Annie has never tolerated in-office dental appointments well since she is so orally defensive.  She has an incredibly strong gag reflex and threw up four times at her appointment today.  But they were SO gentle with her that she never cried or fussed once!  Because Annie doesn't eat anything by mouth, she gets a lot of staining on her teeth. (More about this under FAQ.)  Her new permanent teeth have started staining now too, and because of tartar build up around her gumline, the dentist thinks she could really benefit from a hospitalized cleaning now.

So Annie is scheduled for June 24th bright and early in the morning.  She'll be put under general anesthesia and intubated.  They'll then be able to get x-rays, clean her teeth more thoroughly, and pull any teeth that the x-rays show might fall out in the next year or two--we don't want to risk her choking on a loose tooth!  So Annie's pre-op appointment is Friday, and then she'll be all set.  Hopefully she'll fly through the procedure without any problems and have a beautiful smile when she's done!