Dental Surgery Update

Yesterday was the day 6 months in the making. When we last met with the oral surgeon and saw the issue we had. Alvin had 2 extra adult front 2 teeth. While having one extra tooth isn't all that rare, having 2 the way he did wasn't something she sees every day.

We got to Seattle Children's around 6:45 and got checked in. By about 7:10 we were back in a pre-op room getting ready. By getting ready I mean we were doing a lot of waiting between nurse and anesthesiologist visits. By about 7:45 we had seen the nurses and met our anesthesiologist.

getting ready to go back

On a side note one of the things I thought was quite funny this time was how many doctors and nurses I recognized. While we were waiting in our room I saw quite a few nursing assistants, nurses and anesthesiologist that I remember from past visits. Just another sign that we have been there in and through that process far too many times.

We tried to have him take a pre-medicine to help him relax before we went back but this time it back fired and he threw up all over the place.

When we finally went back he was anxious as expected. First elmo got some of the medicine, then bear and then Alvin laid down and fought a little but did  pretty good going to sleep. The anesthesiologist and nurses were all impressed that he eventually relaxed a little and didn't even cry.

When surgery was over I met with the surgeon she told me what the damage was. His first set of adult teeth were deformed and she went a head and took his baby teeth as well. The issue now is that his next set of adult teeth aren't completely formed yet. It could be another 6

months or longer before he has front teeth again! So once again we are on a watch and wait prognosis and have to follow up with his dentist in a few months to check and see how he is doing.

When I saw him in recovery he looked pretty rough. His mouth was swollen and I could see all of the stiches in his mouth. The staff in the recovery room did all they could to comfort him, but he was so upset that nothing helped. His pain was under control but he was so distraught he couldn't stop crying. Finally the nurse decided he was stable enough to go back to a room and get dressed and recover there for a while. Once in his normal clothes he felt a little better and started trying to drink some apple juice. Then he started throwing up blood which just made things worse. After about 45 minutes in recovery he finally started to keep some fluids down and we were sent home with pain medicine.

recovering after surgery.

Now at home he remains pretty swollen. His mouth looks really rough and he is supposed to be on a soft/ no chew diet. This hasn't been easy for him since all he wants to do is eat everything in site and just avoid his front teeth.

Sleeping at home with his bear after surgery

Day 2 and you can see how swollen he is.

So now we watch and wait. School starts in 2 weeks and with any luck he will be back to normal by then.