Day 11 of 31: Teeth Issues with Ds

My baby girl is teething.  And she is miserable!  Her first two teeth she got weren't bad......in terms of discomfort and pain.  But, this time around, it is a different story!  She has a snotty nose, which in turn makes her not want to eat because she can't breathe.  I use a nasal aspirator literally every 10-15 minutes but it doesn't matter, it just keeps coming.  She finally got a little bit of relief with some teething tablets tonight.....hopefully it will mean a full nights sleep!

Look at my cute little teeth on the bottom!!!

Speaking about teeth......our kiddos with Ds are prone to have a whole slew of issues with their teeth.  When we were at the Ds convention, they had a seminar on "Oral Health Care for patients with Down syndrome".  I didn't attend the session but they did give everyone the notes from each session that took place.  I dug out the book and read through it a little and this is what I came up with.

Dental and Mouth Characteristics of People with Down syndrome

• Microdontia
• This is where the teeth are smaller than normal, resulting in large gaps between the teeth.
• Tooth malformation
• Very common!!
• Defect may be both the shape, color, and /or number
• Delayed eruption
• some of the teeth will not begin to emerge until 2-3 years.  And they often come in an unusual pattern.
• Missing teeth
• typically premolars, laterals, & 3rd molars
• Periodontal disease due to poor oral hygiene
• Can be as early as 6 years old!!!
• Sleep Apnea
• High arched, narrow palates
• Mouth breathing
• due to small nasal airway
• results in chronic dry mouth and fissuring of the tongue & lips
• greater incidence of yeast infections, cold sores & gingivitis
• bad breath
• Mandibular Prognathism
• This is when the lower jaw outgrows the upper jaw resulting in an extended chin.
• Braces and jaw surgery are used to correct
• Think of Jay Leno (when you google this term, his image comes up!  Seriously!)
• Low muscle tone leads to an imbalance of force on the teeth and as a result, the tongue exerts a greater force.
• Results in an anterior open bite.
• Low tone also results in less efficient chewing and natural cleansing of the teeth
• Resulting in food remaining on teeth and greater chance of cavities and periodontal disease.

Wow!!!  That is kind of overwhelming!  I knew that Madi would probably have some dental issues but I didn't realize ALL of THAT could occur!

I think we need a cute picture of Madi to overcome all of that.......

Okay, maybe two.......

Much better!  

Things they suggested to do:

• Maintain meticulous oral hygeine
• Establish a dental home as early as 1 year of age.
• Keep routine visits every 6 months, or as much as every 3 months, if necessary.
• Use a mechanical tooth brush.
• Dietary counseling.
• Topical antimicrobial agents.
• Topical fluoride rinse.

Basically, take REALLY good care of their teeth!!  There you have it, folks!  I hope this information helped some of you out there!