Dental Check

Finally we paid our 1st visit to the Dentist on 25 Apr. 2011, after much postponement due to illness. Her first visit to the dentist went well, she was all so excited to see the dentist and was more than happy to sit on the dentist chair, as there was a TV playing cartoons on the ceiling just above the chair!



Unfortunately the dentist found decay in her teeth, which I knew she had as I could see the hole/decay - 1 on her back molar and as well as her front teeth. Anyway we concluded it probably was due to failing to rinse or brush her teeth after taking the medication as well as night milk. The Dentist pointed out that the decayed teeth needed to be address soon as it is a breeding ground for bacteria and as such may be affecting her health, as the throat, nose and ears are connected. She suggested that we quickly mend the decayed teeth, but in order to do so she would recommend Hazel go under GA due to her young age - it would be easier and less scary for the child. After much thought we decided to go ahead with the procedure – a very expensive one I must say, as we suspected that this might be 1 factor why she kept falling ill over the past few months, so we should get it cleaned and “cured”. We took the earliest slot for the procedure which was the next morning and since we already had a Day Surgery – GA experience with 弟弟we roughly knew what to expect from the GA preparation and post-surgery.


We checked into the day surgery centre first thing in the morning at 8am. Once there the nurse in charge briefed us on the procedure, she also assured Hazel and gave her some stickers to cheer her up. The girl didn’t know what she was going to go through but I did tell her the day before that the Dentist is going to clean her teeth, mend the hole and make it pretty. She will also be given a mask, like the one at home to breathe. I must say she was very x100 obedient and cooperative during the preparation and inside the OT. Seeing me put on the OT gown and cap, she too put them on without a fuss, once in the OT she lied down on the OT table with me holding her hand and allowed the anaesthesian to place the mask on her. The nurses all praised her and told me she is a very good patient; I think they were expecting lots of crying and screaming but nothing like that happened. After a few minutes she went to “sleep” and the whole procedure took about 1and a half hours to complete. But when she woke up, due to the after effects of GA – think some parts of her mouth were still numb; she was crying a lot and only wanted me to carry her. So I had to carry her for about 45 minutes or so before she finally was less drowsy and went back to her normal cheerful self. Her back molar now has a new stainless steel crowning and her front teeth is all cleaned and fixed!


Yesterday we went for her review and the Dentist love her to bits and said she’s their star patient – cos she’s so cooperative! She did a demo on a Doggy stuff toy which had a full set of teeth using a big tooth brush for Hazel to see and follow. We were told to brush 3 times a day and take extra care when brushing the back teeth; if we can’t reach we can use the finger brush or a cloth. In addition, she’ not suppose to take too much sweets and if she needs to take medication better to use a syringe to avoid touching the teeth. So we’ll need to enforce this routine and we’ll see the dentist in 4 months time.