Teeth question - cleft related

[FourAngelKisses]

Just a quick one......

Brooke lost a front tooth, on the same side as her cleft, back in September or October. All these months on, a new tooth still can't be seen. She lost another tooth today, on the other side, but you can already see the new tooth.

She doesn't see her orthodontist until August and the school dental van people are clueless when it comes to clefts.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced the same thing and what was done about it.

[the_queen]

Vallerie hasn't lost any teeth yet, but she has had x-rays and the dentist says that on one side he cannot see an adult canine tooth, so she'll probably have to have a falsie. He said it's pretty common for cleft-affected kids.

Is Brooke worried about it? If it was us, I'd probably call the children's hospital and get a dental appointment (Vally see's the paed. dentist at the hospital). Maybe they'd move Brooke's orthodontist appointment because of this?

[FourAngelKisses]

Brooke hasn't had any x-rays yet, she is due to have her first in August.
It isn't bothering her, but because of the tooth she lost today, she has a gap, then 1 tooth, then another gap. So she kinda looks like a 1 toothed easter bunny. :(
The one she lost last year is the tooth in between the canine tooth and the front tooth. Sounds like it must be missing altogether??

The kids hospital is 4hrs away, so seeing them isn't all that practical.

[FourAngelKisses]

Thanks BTW......wasn't expecting a reply to be honest as I know there aren't that many cleft kids on this site.

[the_queen]

No worries - I'm not much help though, Brooke's older than Vallerie so I haven't been through any of this stuff yet.

It's funny how different the treatment is between states! Vallerie had full skull x-rays and dental x-rays before she started school.

Vallerie actually hasn't got one of her baby teeth yet, the one next to her top front teeth. I forgot about that :o Because she has the bilateral cleft, her top front teeth came through fairly normally but the ones right next to them didn't come through at all, until she was 4 one side came through, but not the other. But even when she smiles, her top teeth aren't visible so nobody really notices the missing tooth.

Will she have another surgery now/soon? Does she have to have bone grafts done into her top gum?

[FourAngelKisses]

Brooke didn't get the tooth in the gap in her alveolar ridge until she was 4. We were told she would either have 2 teeth there or none at all. It came in sideways though.

There was mention of a bone graft a couple of years ago, but nothing definate yet. Just the palate expansion that she will be having done in August. They also said she will need an upper jaw advancement and a bone graft in her nose.

A skull x-ray and dental x-rays sound like great ideas though, at least then you know what you're dealing with!

[tyesmum]

Hi there! :wave:

Tye hasn't reached this stage yet, but it is interesting to hear about things like this. No-one tells you about all the little possibilites!

I do agree about maybe trying to change Brookies appointment, but then again, if you live four hours away, maybe give them a call and ask to speak with her Ortho? They will soon enough let you know whether it is something to be worried about or not.

Good luck and let us know how you go! :)