First Dentist Visit!!

Back in April the twins had their first dentist visit at Carolina Pediatric Dentistry. Yes, we take them early. Mark has had plenty of tooth drama, so we like to get a jump start on things. They did not enjoy it, of course! I took them on separate days. I didn't think we could handle the stress of having both there at the same time.

You may have noticed in previous photos of Brett that his teeth are very yellow, and in some spots almost brown. Dr. Johnson's technical name for this was Enamel Hypoplasia. Don't quote me on this, but she said something like 33% of multiples have this, 33% of babies born prematurely have this, and 33% of CF sufferers have this. Not great odds for Brett, no doubt. But really, he's had sooooooooo many antibiotics in his first little year of life. And they aren't oral antibiotics - they're all the IV, big-gun type drugs. We are supposed to be taking extra care of Brett's teeth because his teeth are very susceptible to cavities. The good news is that these are of course his baby teeth. We have a second chance with the permanents. Below is a more exact description of EH.

Enamel hypoplasia (EH) is a tooth enamel defect that results in a tooth or teeth having less than the normal amount of enamel. The missing enamel is usually localized, which results in small dents, grooves or pits on the outer surface of the affected tooth. This makes the tooth’s surface very rough, and the defects often stand out because they are brown or yellow in color. In extreme cases, the tooth enamel is missing entirely, causing the affected tooth to be misshapen or abnormally small.

Enamel hypoplasia is typically caused by malnutrition, illness, infection or fever during tooth formation. Some medications can also affect the teeth that were developing at the time of dosage. Environmental factors can interfere with tooth formation as well, such as being exposed to toxic chemicals at a very young age. In many cases, the exact cause of enamel hypoplasia cannot be determined.

Gantt's teeth are immaculate and so white. Since this visit, he has chipped his top two front teeth. The dentist we saw didn't see any evidence of nerve damage both visually or on the x-ray. We have yet to see our regular dentist about it, but I am hoping she will be able to file them down some since they are extra sharp.