Orthodontia and Allergies

[maeve]

DD will be getting braces.  As part of the process, molds were taken of her mouth this morning. After the molds, the orthodontist will develop the treatment plan.  DD hated having the molds done this morning.  Her appointment was at 8 this morning and we were done at 8:30.  I dropped her at school at 9 am.  At 10:45, I got a call from the school nurse that DD was feeling nauseous and that she had taken a puff of her inhaler but was still complaining her chest was tight.

Now, some background, DD is a bit of a drama queen, she went to the nurse during gym, and the nurse is a soft-touch eager to send kids home (and DD knows this). So I told DD to go back to class and see how she feels.

I then called the orthodontist's office to double check on the materials used. The orthodontist called me back directly and assured me that DD's allergens are common in their patient population (a large pediatric dentist and ortondontics practice) and that the allergens are not in what they use.

While waiting for the orthodontist's office to call back, I researched mold materials. They usually contain sodium alginate. Sodium alginate is derived from seaweed.  In the past, DD has eaten shrimp, lobser, and crab, and has tested negative for shellfish allergy. She is allergic to dust mites. Could she be developing a shellfish allergy or should I just assume that this can be chalked up to the yuck factor of this process, like non-FA kids?

[CMdeux]

STRONG ick factor.

The mold material is very bitter, and if they didn't clean it absolutely METICULOUSLY from around her teeth and gums, that's what I would chalk it up to.

Does the nurse happen to have a stash of toothbrushes handy?  If so, I'd see if your DD can brush-brush-brush her teeth really well to get rid of the last of it.

[maeve]

They had DD brush her teeth when she was done. It's very cute they have several sinks with toothbrushes and toothpaste next to them throughout the office (at least 4 sinks).  I did notice she had a little bit on the corner of her mouth. She probably didn't brush well.  I also had a bottle of water for her in the car.

[maeve]

The other thing I have to consider is that it is very likely that DD will need at least one implant but more than likely three. She has three baby teeth that have no permanent teeth behind them.  One of the roots of one of those baby teeth was compromised when the adult tooth next to it came in and two of the baby teeth with no adult teeth are ankylosed (meaning they're attached to the bone and lack a periodontal ligament). I'm not sure if one of the ankylosed teeth is the one with the compromised root. 

So I need to research the material for implants.

[CMdeux]

We've done some of the legwork there-- and I know at least one other member here who has, too.

DD's had two major oral surgeries at this point, and will need another to place implant sockets-- as well as one BEFORE that in order to place bone grafts when her wisdom teeth come out (autograft).

[CMdeux]

One thing to be aware of is that most people with Ige-mediated food allergies don't tend to also be sensitizers with respect to metals and other contact-dermatitis triggers.  It tends to be one pathway or the other.

DD has had low-allergen (stainless, low-Ni, though not NO-nickel) orthodontia in her mouth for 23 months-- without any apparent sensitization happening during that period.  We definitely discussed this very thoroughly with the allergist, though-- his feeling was that the lowest-risk materials were likely to be metals, not polymeric organic materials.  We will probably have to have the conversation again w.r.t. her retainer in a few more weeks.

Wax on posts, we tried to minimize use of to "only as absolutely necessary."

HTH.

[starlight]

After I have molds made of my teeth (3 or 4 times now), I feel like I want to vomit the rest of the day. The stuff creeps to the back of your throat and sits on your tonsils and you can rinse and brush and still be spitting out goo hours later and you KNOW you must have swallowed some at some point.  How do we not have a green/nauseated emoticon on here?

[maeve]

Interesting info CM.  DD does seem to get contact dermatitis. She recently had a nasty case from scented Rainbow Loom bands. The scent on the bands was the only trigger we could think of. She clearly gets that sensitivity resulting in contact dermatitis from me. (I've come out of stores after being exposed to something and my hands literally looked like they'd been burned.)

[CMdeux]

Yeah-- my DD and I both have it, too.  I have it to a truly awe-inspiring degree, actually-- I blister from bandaids, etc. 

Just reporting what allergist has told us on the subject, though.  It's apparently a matter of different (evidently competing) genetic loci. 

Naturally, we'd be lucky enough to get them BOTH.   

Titanium with Ni-content verification is what we'd discussed in the past.


We plan to discuss materials again when we are far enough down the road to be close to implant posts, because more development and more data is always helpful there.   Another thing to bear in mind re: that is that the BONE AGE of our kids with MFA doesn't always track perfectly with standard charts, either.  We won't really be able to do the post-placement surgery (er-- or maybe the bone grafts, either) for another couple of years, at least.    So you have a LOT of time before implants would go in.

[maeve]

OK. I really like our orthodontist office.  They just called again to check to see how DD was doing.

Oh, and I'm with you on the bandaids. I think my sensitivity to the adhesive has definitely veered into allergic territory. My skin looks like it's been burned and gets weepy now if I have a bandaid. Fun stuff.