Hello! Thanks for stopping by and being interested in how to keep my children and others like them safe!
In a nutshell- nothing goes into their mouth without my/their parent's ok. NOTHING. Have everything: soap, gloves, cleaning supplies, etc.'s lables out so the parent can read through them and check to see if they are ok. Ask questions, even if they seem silly to you, belive me that vast majority of parents will weep with joy if you ask questions about how to keep their child safe. You might think of something we haven't!
General ideas about FPEIS++ and dental care are: -Cleaning solutions or things to shine teeth, are not safe unless they have been previously tested. Likely they have not been previously tested, so don't test them out unless the parent gives the ok. -If a toothpaste is going to be used, one should be brought from home (For Little Cub and Baby Bear there are no safe tooth pastes so far. We only use water.) or check with parent about the brand used and use the same brand and specific kind. -Pumice is generally thought to be fairly safe, this is not for all children. It is ALWAYS a good idea to check the ingredients though, as blogger and owner of Defending Joy, Jamie, found out that some brands of plain pumice have Chlorhexadine in them! -Gloves: latex free is important, especially if a child already has triggers to other latex foods. It is also important to note if a child has a corn issue. Gloves can have corn derivatives on them in powder form. They can also have talc too. So powder free nitrile gloves are seen as the "safest" for those with corn and latex issues. -How the dental supplies are washed and santized can impact the child's health. -How is the water that is used kept sterile? Is the water in the lines from a direct water line, or is it in a container and has drops or tablets added to it to keep things sterile? Those things matter.
If your child has Neutropenia, like Baby Bear, check with your child's hematologist to find out if you need to get preemptive antibiotics before a cleaning. They will almost always be needed before any other kind of dental work. Getting a recent ANC can help you and your doctor know what is best for your child. Again, always best to check in with your child's doctor first about all of this!
If dairy is an issue, steer clear of MI paste made by GC America as it contains dairy.
If CORN is an issue: This is a great resource on how to stay safe while seeing a dentist (or how to be a safe dentist for those with corn issues): Corn Allergy Girl
This is from a few hours after Little Cub's first dental cleaning. We missed something and a few hours later you can note the dark circles under her eyes.
Little Cub also had flushing (the flash from the camera muted the very very bright red cheeks she had- her words were "mama, I all red"). She also develped the sores on the right side of her mouth, within a few hours she had more than 5. Inside her mouth it looked like the blood vessals had burst and there were small white sores all over the inside of her lips- I could not get a good look at the inside of her cheeks or the rest of her mouth, so I am not sure if the sores went further back.
This was a good dental visit actually. But we missed something. There are always some other thing to take note of, to ask a question about, and each visit we learn something more about how to keep our children even safer!