Teething 2

I do not know if my ten-year-old daughter is teething. She has her teeth cleaned every three months and the dentist (who works with special needs kids) doesn’t see any cavities. My daughter has ground her teeth constantly when she was younger, but not so much now.

Teething problems in your daughter are probably centered on the loss of her baby teeth and the eruption of her new permanent teeth. This period of a mix of permanent and baby teeth can be a long one with children of CdLS. The loss of the baby teeth appears to start later and the eruption of the permanent teeth begins later than unaffected children. The gums seem to be rather thick and the diet is usually limited to softer foods. All of this makes for a more difficult teething process that seems to take a longer time than usual. Chewing harder foods stimulates the gums and the teeth to cut through them. Any discomfort during this period of ” teething ” should be eliminated easily with Motrin or topical gels, such as, Orabase-B. The over-the-counter gel applied to the gums during painful episodes will immediately relieve discomfort.

RM/TK 7-13-10

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