Sally Lloyd

Parents flip the lip

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I drafted this post some time ago but held back. I didn’t want parents to think I am criticizing them. I understand how many times throughout a child’s life that parenting can be difficult. I don’t want to add to any external pressure, but reading an article yesterday that “the federal government is spending a million dollars to send five chartered plane loads of Nunavut children to the hospital in Churchill, Man., for dental surgery”  pushed me into sharing this. That coupled with the fact that after discussing this with a patient of mine she stated “I wish you would tell all parents this”. This is my attempt to reach more parents.

Dental decay is preventable

Granted there is an access to care issue for these Nunavut children in this media report, but that wouldn’t explain the situation in other areas of Canada. There is no shortage of tooth decay and dental treatment being carried out in Calgary by pediatric dentists.

Parents – please flip the top lip up and have a look at your baby’s teeth. Do this often, and realize that brown spots are not normal. Flip the lip when you brush. Their tight little lips prevent thorough plaque removal. Often it is far easier to brush the side of their teeth that the tongue touches when they open wide for this task, than to brush the surface covered by their lips.

Take your child to a dental health care provider by age 1 year (6 months after 1st tooth erupts). Yes, it is a short apt if nothing is wrong, but a very important appointment. Don’t wait until there is a problem, or until age 3 years old. Do they have the appropriate number of teeth for their age? Are they tongue tied? Is their lip tied? Are you struggling to clean their teeth? Are you confused about toothpaste that is age appropriate?  This is only a fraction of what could be reviewed and discussed at this first visit. Regulated dental healthcare workers are required to attend continuing education. That phrase “when we know better, we do better” applies. Therefore, what was reviewed at your older child’s exam 9 years ago maybe be quite different than what is reviewed today with a much younger child.

Wipe off baby teeth with a washcloth or baby toothbrush

Don’t lay a baby down with any liquid other than water

Don’t let a child sip for extended times from a sippy cup – think if it this way – every time they take a sip of apple juice (even diluted) a 20 minute acid attack takes place in their mouth (approximately). If they are sipping from their sippy cup intermittently for 1.5 hours (length of a kids movie) that is almost 2 hours of acid attack

Why fruit juice?….  Why not water?

When the time is right – Have Dental Sealants Placed

I am a parent and trust me there was a period of time that it took myself and my husband to hold our son down so that we could brush his teeth –  he was about 2.5 years old when he began to hate having his teeth brushed. I mean hate it. Of course, we hated doing it just as much.   Me: ” It’s your turn”;  my husband: “No, it’s your turn”  – and usually it would take 2 of us to do it. I would put my thumb in my son’s mouth toward the back baby molars- where when he bit down it wasn’t with any amount of force. Then while my thumb was there, we could get his teeth brushed. He couldn’t close completely so I could maneuver a toothbrush around. The thumb technique sometimes allowed me to do it without help from a second adult. This nightly battle went on for about 6 months- then he was over it. He began to want to “do it himself” of course, but the deal was – he had a turn then an adult had a turn. This event takes minutes, not hours – get it done – get it over with.

Children DO NOT have the dexterity to brush and floss well enough until age 10. If you don’t believe me, have them “do it themselves”, then put disclosing liquid on their teeth. The liquid that turns plaque bacteria purple or red. You will then understand how a child who “brushes everyday” still gets cavities. They aren’t brushing well enough to remove the majority of plaque. It’s not their fault, it’s not that they aren’t trying. They don’t have the co-ordination. Sometimes once “disclosed” – it is quite evident that they are right or left handed and they have missed an entire quadrant of their mouth. Not just one or two teeth, but 5 or 6 teeth. They have spent the time in the bathroom and they report the deed is done, but an adult really needs to assist.

As far as flossing on their own? seriously? there are many adults who don’t even feel the need of this 1-2 minute activity warrants doing. A child left to their own devices may use a floss pick or floss and get a percentage of the spaces. If you actually watch them, they get one spot, skip 2 spots and so on. If this part of home care is a nightmare- consider a child’s waterpik flosser or GumChucks (much easier for a parent to use on a child).  Those tight spaces are where many cavities form.

Give some thought to yourself – did you ever have cavities? if so at what age did you have the most dental treatment? If you have never had decay – fantastic. Congratulations. You won’t have to spend time and money over your life having the dental fillings placed when you were a child drilled out and replaced several times over. Once a tooth has been cut with a dental drill and a filling placed, it is destined for future dental treatment. Fillings don’t last forever, especially the white resin fillings. All of this can be PREVENTED.

As a dental hygienist, my children are not immune to tooth decay, so I knew it had to be done, and I considered it a chore. It is important to me that I prevent what I know can be prevented. Why was I then cursed with a child who hated having his teeth brushed?

I know why. I was a dental assistant before I became a dental hygienist. I assisted a dentist with operating room privileges. We treated children under general anesthesia in a hospital. It was difficult to see such small, young children laying on an operating table – their feet going nowhere near the foot of the bed, and their eyelids taped shut during the procedure.This was not a children’s hospital – so these were adult hospital beds.  Usually, treatment involved several injections of anesthetic, pulpotomies (this is basically the equivalent to a root canal treatment but on a baby tooth), stainless steel crowns cemented to hold intact what was left of the decayed teeth, several fillings, and some extractions if the teeth were so badly decayed. As I suctioned and watched eyelids try to flutter I cast judgment on these children’s parents. In my mind I questioned to myself – “who would let their children’s teeth become decayed like this, and why don’t parents brush their kids teeth?”   This is why my son gave me grief – and of course, that is when I realized just how difficult it is to carry out dental home care at times. Often it’s not that brushing isn’t happening, it’s that it isn’t happening well. Today’s typical diet is inducive to dental decay. Let your children, or your grandchildren or any children you know be the exception.

So I sympathize with new parents, parents of multiple kids, tired and overworked parents – but please, as tired as you are, please get through this chore at night before bed – at least, and monitor what it is in contact with their teeth throughout the day. Do what you feel is in the best interest of your child.

Early Childhood Cavities – why be concerned?

Feds spend $1M to fly Inuit children south for dental surgery

Cavities on the increase for kids

Sedatives Cited in Toddler’s Dental Office Death 

Anesthesia in young kids may carry developmental risks

If you live in Calgary or Claresholm, bring your kiddies in for a no charge first visit.

If you have young children at home, or children who you feel would do better in their home environment – a mobile dental hygienist is a great option – they bring their equipment to you.

Thumb-sucking Therapy

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Thumb sucking habits can leave parents at their wits end. After trying everything at home including nasty tasting coatings painted on the thumb and reward systems, parents are often told that a habit breaking appliance needs to be cemented into their child’s mouth. These dental “habit breakers” are torturous looking. This is suggested because dental professionals know the detrimental impact prolonged thumb-sucking or finger sucking can have on the developing mouth and speech.

When a thumb or finger is in the way – tongue placement is not optimal. The intensity of habits like these can shape bone (roof of the mouth often reflects this), and prevent eruption of adult teeth into the optimal position – or move teeth dramatically. When there is an open bite, as there is in this pre-treatment photo – the tongue can often be seen thrusting into the open space.

Sally Lloyd BScDH, RDH has been trained in orofacial therapy and can assist in eliminating thumb and finger sucking habits – without the need for a dental appliance cemented. Give us a call or email us with your questions. We can discuss the length of time therapy typically takes and your child’s unique needs. We are here to set your child up for success !!

before and after thumbsucking

Just bill my dental insurance. Why Not?

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There is high administration cost for dental hygiene clinics to directly bill dental insurance companies ins claim

Dental Hygiene clinics are still a relatively new concept, despite the fact that legislation was changed in Alberta several years ago to allow Registered Dental Hygienists to achieve this. You could say it is still an unknown concept by the majority of Canadians even.

Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic wants to make it as easy as possible for individuals to arrange treatment, and handle the financial process. Therefore we do directly bill to dental insurance companies, when provided with valid dental insurance information, and to companies that will reimburse the hygienist. Some dental insurance companies require that the individual pays up front and submit a claim for reimbursement.

We make every effort to ensure all the forms submitted are processed efficiently. The are only a few companies that allow dental hygiene clinics to submit claims electronically – remember this is still a new concept and it has involved changes for insurance companies as well. Unlike dental clinics, the majority of our claims are made by paper and carried by snail mail.

As you can see in the photo- we have had so many issues with dental insurance companies paying the patient instead of our clinic- we have resorted to attaching a “flag” to the claims. There are still problems. Dental insurance companies still make mistakes- and send a cheque to the patient, or directly deposit the money into the patient`s bank account despite the fact that the submitted claim clearly states the subscriber has assigned payment to the hygienist.

What does this mean for us?  We have to make phone calls when payments don`t come in on time. The privacy act limits the information the insurance company will disclose. We have to resubmit forms to insurance companies by snail mail, phone patients, and do our best to track down payments. This takes time to process and correct , adding to the cost of doing business. This drives up fees.

Why do I write this?  in the hopes that more individuals will understand the effort we make to directly bill a dental insurance company, and understand why clinics need financial policies. Unfortunately, all it takes is a few individuals who are reimbursed by the insurance company incorrectly – and who do not then forward payment to the hygienist owed- to ruin it for everyone. And there are individuals who are “upset” when we have to make several calls to achieve payment from them. They feel we have somehow not been competent in handling their paperwork.

This is why many dental clinics will not directly bill – they do not want this extra work, and as a business that also have staff and overhead costs, can`t carry the high accounts receivable typically associated with this way of doing business.

We are happy to extend this courtesy to our patients, and keep in mind if the insurance company makes a mistake- extend a courtesy to us and clear up outstanding balances as soon as possible.

Thanks, and feel free to discuss payment policies with us. Our goal is that the cost of dental hygiene treatment not be a barrier to oral health. We did not raise our fees this year, and do not plan to do so next year. Please help us in achieving this.

Canadian Dental Hygiene Mission

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gift from the heart dental hygienists volunteer 2012Hygienists in Canada are participating in a wonderful event, help us to share a Gift from your own Heart this Valentine’s Day by spreading the word of what we’re trying to do.

 

It all started with Bev Woods – Ontario Dental Hygienist and founder of the event – who wanted to bring public awareness to the overwhelming number of Ontarian’s unable to afford oral health care. This lead to the annual event Gift From The Heart.

 
 
This is the third year for Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic to participate in the event Gift From The Heart .
 
I have participated in providing volunteer dental treatment in the past. After returning from a rewarding experience in Venezuela I decided that I could do more locally with the same amount of invested time and resources. Don’t misunderstand, travelling to another country to treat populations in need is worthwhile. Many children in Venezuela benefited from the treatment of the mission I participated in. That being said there are many in Canada that cannot afford even basic dental hygiene services.

 

I decided I wanted to participate in “local” dental missions. I knew for the same cost of travelling to another country I could reach and provide treatment to more individuals by staying local. I contacted Bev Woods regarding her initiative Gift From the Heart and offered to mobilize Dental Hygienists in Alberta. The Ontario Dental Hygiene Association, and Bev Woods have always had the goal in mind that this event would spread across Canada, and it is now doing just that. I am so pleased that Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic can join the efforts with this group of giving health care professionals and provide treatment in Calgary and Claresholm. The dental hygienists that have been involved for past years have experienced first hand the overwhelming numbers of underserviced, and negelcted individuals for whom dental treatment in Canada is unachievable.  
 
Due to the efforts of Canadian dental hygienists on national and provincial levels, government changes have occurred that now allow Registered Dental Hygienists to open their own clinics. It is in these clinics on February 9, 2013 that Canadians in need will benefit from this Gift From The Heart.
 
 This event brings attention to the fact that despite Canada’s favorable economy there are many for whom dental care just does not fit into their budget, or parents who go without so children can have treatment. I am not referring to the cost of root canal treatment or a dental crown, but basic dental hygiene care. The dental hygiene preventative services that help achieve a level of oral health, prevent more serious dental problems, and are essential to whole body health.

Everyone in Canada deserves access to care. Just imagine what a toothache feels like..a toothache that keeps you up all night…and now just imagine it is a young child in this kind of pain…we don’t want to. Dental Hygienists want to share the gift of prevention.

 You don’t have to be a dental hygienist to help. Many hands make light work.

 What can you do?

–contact a participating clinic and ask what they need (they may need posters distributed, or a shot of caffeine on February 9th)

-help spread the word, tell others, share on facebook, twitter, email

-tell us how you can help

There are many ways you could help. Just ask…you’ll be glad you did!!

 -Thanks

Sally Lloyd,RDH

Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic

 

 

***Update

2014 UPDATE – February 8th is the date for 2014

2013 marks the fifth year for this event – – there are clinics participating in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia- please go to http://www.giftfromtheheart.ca/2013-gfth-locations.html   to see if a clinic in your province is listed. Scroll all the way to the bottom to see Alberta!

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