5 Year old in Coma after Dental Visit....

[julianne]

What would prevent cavitities beyond normal dental hygene which for some doesn't prevent them?

Amraann--I asked this very same question to my dentist. One of my children has always been very very good about brushing & flossing...almost too the point of brushing for too long, LOL. Immediately runs upstairs to brush after eating. Always been that way. Another one of my kids is just the opposite---hates brushing, needs to implored to do so, doesn't brush for long enough, hates to floss, etc. So, my perfect brusher ended up with 2 cavities, while my not-so-perfect brusher has still never had a cavity! Go figure! Anyway, the dentist told me that the ph & natural bacteria present in your mouth can not only aid in the development of cavities, but that some peoples ph & natural bacteria is such that it aids in preventing cavities.

I had never heard that before, but it made perfect sense to me in trying to figure out why my excellent brusher got cavities & my lax brusher didn't. Needless to say, my excellent brusher was none too happy!!!

 

[JBean]

Relatives told girl brain dead after dental work



September 26, 2006
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
Diamond Brownridge, the 5-year-old Southwest Side girl who slipped into a coma after being sedated by her dentist, was clinging to life late Monday at Children's Memorial Hospital


Relatives were at her bedside, praying and singing her favorite songs by the group Cheetah Girls. But after Diamond suffered both brain and organ damage, "We're just praying for a miracle,'' said her mother, Ommettress Travis.

Diamond remained on life support, and a relative said doctors have told the family she is brain dead. The relative said the family may make a decision today on the child's fate. The cause of her coma was unknown




http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/72328,CST-NWS-dentist26.article

 

[michelle]

Normally, there is. Blood pressure, pulse, and o2 saturations are normally monitored. The doc said that his pts. are monitored all the time, but if this girl was without o2 for an hour, that doesn't make sense. Either the article or the doc is wrong.

No it does not make sense.

 

[michelle]

Relatives told girl brain dead after dental work



September 26, 2006
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters
Diamond Brownridge, the 5-year-old Southwest Side girl who slipped into a coma after being sedated by her dentist, was clinging to life late Monday at Children's Memorial Hospital


Relatives were at her bedside, praying and singing her favorite songs by the group Cheetah Girls. But after Diamond suffered both brain and organ damage, "We're just praying for a miracle,'' said her mother, Ommettress Travis.

Diamond remained on life support, and a relative said doctors have told the family she is brain dead. The relative said the family may make a decision today on the child's fate. The cause of her coma was unknown




http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/72328,CST-NWS-dentist26.article

Aww, Poor Baby.......

 

[sleuthin4fun]

sounds very sketchy. why would the mother come in and find her daughter like that before the staff found her? and why would they tell her to leave the room in the first place? and what is a "storefront" dental office? what kind of dentist is this anyway? i wonder if they are even operating legally.

i hate to say this.. but preventative dental care could have probably prevented this. why wait til your kid is in pain to take them to the dentist to get their cavities filled?

No where in the article does it state tha this is her first time to the dentist or that she had not had dental care in the past.Even children that recieve prevenative dental care get cavities. My fifteen y.o. daughter has always been very good about cleaning her teeth ect. She has seen a dentisit regularly since she was 1 y.o. I swear she has a cavity almost every time we go. My 11 y.o. son on the other hand who I do battle with on a regular basis to brush his teeth has never hard a cavity. The dentist says that it has a lot to do with the types of bacteria in your mouth.

 

[ember]

This is just so awful! Why in the world do doctors give these little ones so much! I could have had an experience at Ruby Memorial up in Morgantown, WV that much resembles this one. My son was 4 years old. His right testicle stayed up in his body alot. It wasn't un-descended, it had dropped but it liked to stay up in the body. Well my family doctor wanted a specialist to look at it so we took him to Morgantown...it's supposed to be one of the best in the area. They decided, in one visit, that he must have surgery and immediately began the pre-op and scheduled the surgery for 3 days later. They said it could effect his ability to have children and could cause testicular cancer later. My head was spinning from the rush of information I was getting...until they started explaining the anesthesia methods they would use on him. I was very careful to listen well. I had a cousin who went in to get his tonsils out and never woke up again...and my mother had a very bad reaction to it while having me. They said they would give him a general, a local and a gas! I asked them WHY all of that was needed and I told them that given my family history, I just think that is too much. They said it was procedure and continued to do the pre-op stuff. I think it is PROCEDURE when they see that you have good insurance that pays for all of that stuff. I left there feeling really bothered. I just really couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen to my baby if I went on with this. So, I researched what could happen if I didn't get him the surgery. There was nothing bad about retractable testes, only undescended. So I took the chance, thinking that he is still so young...the testes could decide to stay down on their own. I did NOT have the surgery. He is 6 years old now and his testes are both where they should be. Nature just needed time to take its course. Sometimes I think doctors are just so quick to operate and at times, have really hard time taking into consideration the intuitive feelings a parent experiences. They think we are just worrying too much. Well I say, question, question & re-question! Health care professionals do make mistakes....look at those poor babies that just died from getting adult doses. I am the mother who is constantly reading over the doctors shoulder, asking questions, usually "why?" and even then I do my own research and listen to my inner voice.
Sorry for the rant! I just cannot understand why we let people who are essentially strangers make life changing decisions for us or our children without question. Listen to your intuition!

Hope this little girl is better soon!

 

[GlitchWizard]

ember,

I've been the same way with my daughter - do you find the specialists sometimes get almost hostile in attitude when you ask questions that appear to second guess them? I certainly do.

 

[ember]

ember,

I've been the same way with my daughter - do you find the specialists sometimes get almost hostile in attitude when you ask questions that appear to second guess them? I certainly do.

Oh absolutely! They seem to get offended, like.... how dare we mere normal people question their professional ability!??? I don't give a damn how offended they get! I tell them I'm the momma and a good momma always knows what's best for her babies! I always ask them if something happens to my baby because of their "professional opinion" ...will they be there to pick up the peices of my shattered life? They always give me a dumbfounded look and i say, "well, good then, if i will be suffering the consequences alone, I will be making my decision solely on my own. :snooty:

 

[GlitchWizard]

Recently, my kid's doctor said he wouldn't run a simple test for haemochromatosis because her liver didn't show any damage. Hello? What's wrong with the prevention of the liver being damaged in the first place by accurately diagnosing why she sets of metal detectors when she's wearing no metal? It's heredetary, my Grandfather had it. It's dangerous, and the blood test is so very simple. He was downright RUDE.

The same with a neurologist who does research on his patients with different drugs. My daughter was having symptoms that online said could BLIND her, and her attorney said he worked another case where a person was blind from the same medication - yet he was furious when I refused to continue her on it.

They think we're stupid. I fear for the children of parents who grew up trusting doctors to know everything.

Oh absolutely! They seem to get offended, like.... how dare we mere normal people question their professional ability!??? I don't give a damn how offended they get! I tell them I'm the momma and a good momma always knows what's best for her babies! I always ask them if something happens to my baby because of their "professional opinion" ...will they be there to pick up the peices of my shattered life? They always give me a dumbfounded look and i say, "well, good then, if i will be suffering the consequences alone, I will be making my decision solely on my own. :snooty:

 

[ember]

Recently, my kid's doctor said he wouldn't run a simple test for haemochromatosis because her liver didn't show any damage. Hello? What's wrong with the prevention of the liver being damaged in the first place by accurately diagnosing why she sets of metal detectors when she's wearing no metal? It's heredetary, my Grandfather had it. It's dangerous, and the blood test is so very simple. He was downright RUDE.

The same with a neurologist who does research on his patients with different drugs. My daughter was having symptoms that online said could BLIND her, and her attorney said he worked another case where a person was blind from the same medication - yet he was furious when I refused to continue her on it.

They think we're stupid. I fear for the children of parents who grew up trusting doctors to know everything.

Yep, they act like they are doing us a favor. :croc: We pay good money to question their ability when it comes to protecting the most precious things in our life. And yes, they do get rude. I just thank them for their time and then I'm on to find another doctor. Life is too short to deal with that BS. What happened to the good old days when a doctor was a doctor because they actually cared about and wanted to help people!?
Maybe we should start trading farm animals for medical care again...

 

[JBean]

You guys are at the wrong doctors! I put great faith in MD's because they know a lot more than I do, but it doesn't prevent me from findng a doctor that thinks similarly to the way I do.
One of my sons was diagnosed with epilepsy at 18 months. I had to go to 4 doctors before I found a pediatric neurologist that would support me in my desire to not medicate him. 17 years ago, they did not have as many anticonvulsant choices and every one had side effects that were far too worrisome for me. I just couldn't see giving my little one such harsh meds. But I did find one very special doctor and he was a great doctor,that supported me 100%. For 15 years my son went unmedicated. I think that avoided all kinds of secondary health issues that he would have acquired from these meds. He is medicated now at 19, but the new medications in the last decade are far superior. I think at least I bought him a lttle time by finding the right doctor.
If any doctor is hostile towards my questions, I don't go back. Don't condemn the whole profession, just find your right doctor and then you can put your families health in his hands.

 

[julianne]

Ember-

A womans (mothers) intuition is a very powerful thing! You're right to ALWAYS "go with your gut"---we have that inner voice for a reason. But, you know this

If everything logical in the world tells me "yes" on something, and my instinct tells me "no", I go with my instinct each and every time without fail, and it's never been wrong.

 

[joeskidbeck]

sounds very sketchy. why would the mother come in and find her daughter like that before the staff found her? and why would they tell her to leave the room in the first place? and what is a "storefront" dental office? what kind of dentist is this anyway? i wonder if they are even operating legally.

i hate to say this.. but preventative dental care could have probably prevented this. why wait til your kid is in pain to take them to the dentist to get their cavities filled?

please don't blame the mother for this. I'm sure this woman is already in enough pain. My grandson had to have all of his teeth capped when he was only 4 years old. His teeth were too soft and no amount of "preventative dental care" would have been enough. He was IV sedated and we were warned of the danger. BUT... it was not done in the dentist's office, it was done in the hospital on an outpatient basis and no way would they let his mom be present in the room.

 

[Amraann]

Amraann--I asked this very same question to my dentist. One of my children has always been very very good about brushing & flossing...almost too the point of brushing for too long, LOL. Immediately runs upstairs to brush after eating. Always been that way. Another one of my kids is just the opposite---hates brushing, needs to implored to do so, doesn't brush for long enough, hates to floss, etc. So, my perfect brusher ended up with 2 cavities, while my not-so-perfect brusher has still never had a cavity! Go figure! Anyway, the dentist told me that the ph & natural bacteria present in your mouth can not only aid in the development of cavities, but that some peoples ph & natural bacteria is such that it aids in preventing cavities.

I had never heard that before, but it made perfect sense to me in trying to figure out why my excellent brusher got cavities & my lax brusher didn't. Needless to say, my excellent brusher was none too happy!!!

That is it exactly!
And another poster relayed the same after your post about their children.


I wanted to comment about the above posts about Pediatricians...
You all need to change Dr's.
A Dr may know the medical field but YOU know your child.
DO not ever let anyone undermine you or make you second guess yourself when it comes to your child.
I would never tolerate that type of attitude from a Pediatrician. (or anyone else)
A Dr is in your employement for services.
Just like the guy who mows your lawn or paints your house.
If you said "I want that tree trimmed or the house trim purple"
would you accept being told "no I am not going to do that" Without a very very good reason?
I think most would find a lawn guy or house painter that either explained why something should not be done without talking down to us or find someone who would do what we want.
Your child's health is a hell of a lot more important then the lawn or the house paint.
I just would not stand for it.

Its very sad for this family. This mom will forever second guess herself for not being in the room with her daughter. IMO this procedure should have only been done in a hospital. I am kind of a stickler about that when it comes to putting kids to sleep for procedures.

 

[bakerprune64]

what i said was preventative dental care PROBABLY could have prevented this (but maybe not-- such a mishap could happen to anyone i suppose). i'm just questioning why the mother why the mother let it get that bad to begin with.. i.e., why she waited until the child was already in pain from her cavities. but at least she brought her in, unlike the other mother we read about recently. i guess nowadays kids from non-affluent families are lucky if they ever see a dentist at all!

Not attacking you here Reb, but that is BS. Kids on welfare get treated better than most other kids. they even put braces on kids teeth, but my insurance as a county employee doesn't cover it. We make a good living but cannot afford $4k for braces, so now I have to go into debt to have my daughter's braces put on. Has nothing to do with being affluent IMO.

 

[Annie]

This is so sad. It reminds me of when my daughter was getting ready to have her tonsils out. About a week before, another child in our town was getting ready for surgery and died as soon as the anesthetic was administered. The surgery had not even started. I was a nervous wreck while my daughter was in surgery. These things do happen, but thank God, they are rare. Most kids do fine in surgery or in the dental chair, but as a worried mom, it is too easy to remember the ones who didn't. My heart goes out to this family.

 

[eve]

Not attacking you here Reb, but that is BS. Kids on welfare get treated better than most other kids. they even put braces on kids teeth, but my insurance as a county employee doesn't cover it. We make a good living but cannot afford $4k for braces, so now I have to go into debt to have my daughter's braces put on. Has nothing to do with being affluent IMO.

You bring up good issues. One of my students (on welfare) is pregnant for the second time at 17. She came in the other day and showed me 3-D ultra-sound pictures of her baby. I asked whether something was wrong that they did such extensive untrasounds and she said, "No, I just wanted them!" :doh: What's up with this? I realize I haven't been pregnant for 15 years, but is this now standard? I had one ultrasound and no 3-D ultrasounds! Who pays for this? Why is it medically indicated?

I am a teacher and my children's father is a lawyer. We struggle with medical and dental bills. I am putting off my son's braces - still recovering from my other son's braces and wisdom teeth extractions. I have had a crown, a root canal and an extraction this year and my dental insurance maxes out for the ENTIRE family at $1000. It's a joke. I have always had excellent dental care and hygiene, my problems are because I am a grinder and so are my kids.

Most of my students have NO regular dental care and their parents' teeth are awful. I can see why. It is a priority for us but we do struggle with the cost, even with decent jobs.

Eve

 

[ljwf22]

You bring up good issues. One of my students (on welfare) is pregnant for the second time at 17. She came in the other day and showed me 3-D ultra-sound pictures of her baby. I asked whether something was wrong that they did such extensive untrasounds and she said, "No, I just wanted them!" :doh: What's up with this? I realize I haven't been pregnant for 15 years, but is this now standard? I had one ultrasound and no 3-D ultrasounds! Who pays for this? Why is it medically indicated?

I am a teacher and my children's father is a lawyer. We struggle with medical and dental bills. I am putting off my son's braces - still recovering from my other son's braces and wisdom teeth extractions. I have had a crown, a root canal and an extraction this year and my dental insurance maxes out for the ENTIRE family at $1000. It's a joke. I have always had excellent dental care and hygiene, my problems are because I am a grinder and so are my kids.

Most of my students have NO regular dental care and their parents' teeth are awful. I can see why. It is a priority for us but we do struggle with the cost, even with decent jobs.

Eve

I hear you! We have 'double' dental insurance and still I have to pay about 60%. I bet I'm paying for the people who get their dental work for free. I like my dentist but I can't afford him.

 

[montana_16]

You bring up good issues. One of my students (on welfare) is pregnant for the second time at 17. She came in the other day and showed me 3-D ultra-sound pictures of her baby. I asked whether something was wrong that they did such extensive untrasounds and she said, "No, I just wanted them!" :doh: What's up with this? I realize I haven't been pregnant for 15 years, but is this now standard? I had one ultrasound and no 3-D ultrasounds! Who pays for this? Why is it medically indicated?

I am a teacher and my children's father is a lawyer. We struggle with medical and dental bills. I am putting off my son's braces - still recovering from my other son's braces and wisdom teeth extractions. I have had a crown, a root canal and an extraction this year and my dental insurance maxes out for the ENTIRE family at $1000. It's a joke. I have always had excellent dental care and hygiene, my problems are because I am a grinder and so are my kids.

Most of my students have NO regular dental care and their parents' teeth are awful. I can see why. It is a priority for us but we do struggle with the cost, even with decent jobs.

Eve

Many of the poor are working and work very hard and do not qualify for welfare. And most of their jobs don't have benefits. It's not fair to put them in the same catagory as welfare recipiants.

In the last 5 years the working poor and middle class are having a harder and harder time while the super rich and corporations are getting all the breaks and getting all the laws changed to sqeeze us even futher.

 

[lymom3]

I agree wholeheartedly with all posts about medical and dental care costs. By the time you pay the premiums for the coverage, you can't afford the copays and the coinsurance. My husband and I both have above average paying jobs. I work for a small company with under 40 employees. He is about to be out of a job as his company was bought out. I cover myself and my 2 boys on my medical / dental plan and he covers himself and his daughter who lives with us on his at his job. I checked into adding him and my stepdaughter to my plan at work after he is out of a job next week. My premium would more than DOUBLE to $825 a month. Factor in 3 of us in the household are on multiple medications...none of which I'm lucky enough to be the generic, so even with insurance, which I might add is Blue Cross, our prescription drug bill every month is $275 a month.

My point is, my kids get checkups and get their cavities filled, but all 3 of them could use braces. Neither one of us have ex's that pay or can afford to pay child support so they don't get the best dental care either. I've had a tooth pulled that the dentist wanted to do a crown on. I couldn't afford the crown....etc. You do the best you can is my point. We make a decent living between the two of us but still can't afford it. 3 sets of braces would be 12,000...I sure don't have that!!