S/O chewing

[spooko]

DS had a tooth pulled and they had to put a spacer in its place for the next 2 years or so. Well the child has played with it and wiggled it loose with his tongue 4x now. I have to keep taking him in to get it recemented and we are only talking about a 2 month time frame or so. Despite talking about the importance of keeping it in and leaving it alone, not to mention the cost, he still futzes until it comes out. I can't do this for 2 more years! Help!

[funchicken]

Four times! Wow! DD1 had a spacer put in a couple of weeks ago. I hope she leaves it alone. Does the dentist have any suggestions?

[spooko]

Mar 2, 2015 14:55:29 GMT -5 funchicken said:

Four times! Wow! DD1 had a spacer put in a couple of weeks ago. I hope she leaves it alone. Does the dentist have any suggestions?

We were just in last week to get it fixed and dh took him. Idk if they said anything. DS told me this weekend he did it again and I've been dreading the dentist call. Ugh.

[mirandah]

Dang, that's annoying! I would want to know what the dentist had to say too. DS has pulled out two teeth in the past week. Both times he's emerged after bedtime with his face all bloody and a big smile on his face. If he finds even the tiniest wiggle he'll obsess over it until he works it out. Even his dentist noted that DS probably pulled his two front teeth out too early (they remained empty with no sign of adult teeth emerging for months).

[spooko]

I got him into the dentist tomorrow. I'll definitely be asking. I stopped in by his SN coordinator before I picked him up and we tried to brainstorm, but didn't really accomplish anything. Even if he had something else to chew on or fidget with, I doubt it would really help. As soon as he wasn't by that thing, it would still draw his attention, and getting him to prefer another object instead isn't so likely, anyways.

[mrsbuttinski]

That's a challenge.

I assume you've already taken steps to explain the importance of this appliance and yet he's too "something" to comply. It's frustrating all around, but he's likely feeling badly about himself.

I'd speak to the dentist ahead of time to sound him out. If he seems frustrated or out of answers, maybe you need to find a dentist who is more adept at dealing with kids who are impulsive and/or have sensory issues. My guess would be a more robust spacer makes sense, but it could be the edges are a trigger and a traditional partial plate with a replacement tooth might be less likely to cause the behavior. What is your son saying about why he does this- does it hurt (cut his gum or tongue)? feel odd? put pressure on his other teeth? would a partial over which he has control reduce anxiety and let him live with it?

[spooko]

I talked with DS about it after school. He said that he doesn't like that it feels weird and he can't stop himself. He pointed out to me that he can't get it loose with just his tongue, so he thought "a ball" to keep his hands busy would help. My concern is that it doesn't become yet another classroom distraction if he has that--but I'm willing to try. He gets it cognitively but can't stop it. We're in the land of month-long scabs and teeth that can't wiggle for more than an hour without coming out, so I know he doesn't mean to cause problems with it. I just don't have a great alternative.

[akafred]

I feel for him. I got a wisdom tooth that erupted when I was 30. All was well until half the tooth was out and the other half was "caught" on the gum. It absolutely drove me crazy. Finally I tried "stretching" the gum to give a little leeway. Well, gums don't stretch. RIIIIIIIP! Aaaah! Felt so much better immediately. I cannot imagine how that probably creates pressure. Pressure is my enemy. Zits, teeth, joints (I pop), whatever. A million times worse than actual pain.