Charlotte's tooth count is sitting squarely at 8. Maybe 9. Or possibly 10. She definitely has two bottom front teeth, two top front teeth, and her top lateral incisors, plus her bottom two one-year molars. She's been working on the top one-year molars, and there are definitely some points that have broken through, if not the whole tooth yet. But she skipped right over the bottom lateral incisors and top and bottom bicuspids. But that's okay with me. The longer they're in the guns the better chance they have at health.
I wasn't ready to blog about this until now, but I feel a little more in control of the situation, so here we go.
A little over a month ago (June 9) we went to see a pediatric dentist, because I was concerned about some spots on Charlotte's top lateral incisors. She has decay. Not just on the lateral incisors, either; her front teeth (what are those called? do they have an official name?) have beginning signs of decay as well. Jeff and I both have weak enamel on our teeth, and consequently lots of tooth problems/cavities through the years. The dentist, who was very nice and let me hold Charlotte while he examined her, didn't outright blame the decay on nursing, but he did say it was a "largely contributing factor" and that we might want to set a goal for weaning, for the sake of her teeth.
I disagree. Breastmilk is designed for human babies/toddlers/kids, and [I]my[\I] breastmilk is designed specifically for [I]my[\I] child. I cannot imagine thy nature/evolution/God (whatever tour belief system is) would design something that would rot teeth.
So, I thanked the dentist for being respectful enough to not demand that we wean, but I also didn't agree to set the goal of weaning by x date.
Our options, he told us, are to basically do nothing, or to have a costly and painful surgery to repair the teeth. she would need to be put under general anesthesia, because she is so young, and the teeth would need to be filled and capped. However, because of her age and the fact that the teeth are not all the way in, they would need to slice into her gums to get the caps places properly.
Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal. We chose to go with Option C: Other.
After doing a good bit of research, digging in to what actually causes tooth decay (it's way more than sugar sitting on your teeth, FYI), and talking with a new friend who has actually healed her kids' tooth decay, we've got a much clearer picture of what Option C looks like. We'll be going on a pretty strict nutrition protocol, which involves grass-fed meat, especially organ meat, bone broth made from whole chickens, pastured eggs, lots of green vegetables, limited fruits and very few grains/starches (for example, no flour unless we grind it ourselves immediately before using). Oh, and a mixture of butter oil and cod liver oil, which Charlotte loves. It's got cocoa in it, and has the texture of pudding, almost, and she loves having "chockit" every day.
We'll also be adding in some pretty hefty probiotics, brushing teeth with Pascalite (a natural clay powder,) and taking a couple kinds of cell salts, which are basically minerals found in your cells, but the ones we're taking are almost always lacking in people with tooth decay.
At first, I thought I was going to have to quit my job to keep up with all of this. And it is going to be demanding, especially at first. But we're easing into it, and surviving. We'll start the nutrition protocol very soon, possibly this weekend. Its mostly a matter of being organized, and I just keep telling myself that it'll be worth it. If it doesn't work, at worst we'll be out a little money and a little time, at best, it works and we won't be out any teeth. :)
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
I wasn't ready to blog about this until now, but I feel a little more in control of the situation, so here we go.
A little over a month ago (June 9) we went to see a pediatric dentist, because I was concerned about some spots on Charlotte's top lateral incisors. She has decay. Not just on the lateral incisors, either; her front teeth (what are those called? do they have an official name?) have beginning signs of decay as well. Jeff and I both have weak enamel on our teeth, and consequently lots of tooth problems/cavities through the years. The dentist, who was very nice and let me hold Charlotte while he examined her, didn't outright blame the decay on nursing, but he did say it was a "largely contributing factor" and that we might want to set a goal for weaning, for the sake of her teeth.
I disagree. Breastmilk is designed for human babies/toddlers/kids, and [I]my[\I] breastmilk is designed specifically for [I]my[\I] child. I cannot imagine thy nature/evolution/God (whatever tour belief system is) would design something that would rot teeth.
So, I thanked the dentist for being respectful enough to not demand that we wean, but I also didn't agree to set the goal of weaning by x date.
Our options, he told us, are to basically do nothing, or to have a costly and painful surgery to repair the teeth. she would need to be put under general anesthesia, because she is so young, and the teeth would need to be filled and capped. However, because of her age and the fact that the teeth are not all the way in, they would need to slice into her gums to get the caps places properly.
Obviously, neither of these solutions are ideal. We chose to go with Option C: Other.
After doing a good bit of research, digging in to what actually causes tooth decay (it's way more than sugar sitting on your teeth, FYI), and talking with a new friend who has actually healed her kids' tooth decay, we've got a much clearer picture of what Option C looks like. We'll be going on a pretty strict nutrition protocol, which involves grass-fed meat, especially organ meat, bone broth made from whole chickens, pastured eggs, lots of green vegetables, limited fruits and very few grains/starches (for example, no flour unless we grind it ourselves immediately before using). Oh, and a mixture of butter oil and cod liver oil, which Charlotte loves. It's got cocoa in it, and has the texture of pudding, almost, and she loves having "chockit" every day.
We'll also be adding in some pretty hefty probiotics, brushing teeth with Pascalite (a natural clay powder,) and taking a couple kinds of cell salts, which are basically minerals found in your cells, but the ones we're taking are almost always lacking in people with tooth decay.
At first, I thought I was going to have to quit my job to keep up with all of this. And it is going to be demanding, especially at first. But we're easing into it, and surviving. We'll start the nutrition protocol very soon, possibly this weekend. Its mostly a matter of being organized, and I just keep telling myself that it'll be worth it. If it doesn't work, at worst we'll be out a little money and a little time, at best, it works and we won't be out any teeth. :)
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
