Can you say "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"

So, last week Cams and I drove south and this week we drove north in our ever-continuing search of specialized treamtent. This time it was an appointment with a pediatric dentist for children with special needs. Our lovely insurance company (smooch smooch guys) gave me a wide array of two dentists to pick from. One way out in Timbuktu and one even more way out in Timbuktu. I chose the latter, not because of my love for driving, but for the fact that they provided sedation if necessary and I felt positive that sedation would be necessary for Cams and possibly for me as well.
So, 7:30 a.m. we got in the old Suburban and headed up to New Port Richey, a city about an hour north of St. Pete. We had an 8:30 appt and leaving only an hour for travel during morning rush hour was risky, but I am known for having a slightly heavy foot and just as I had hoped, we rolled in the parking lot at 8:35. The office was totally set up for kids, with four plexi-glass encased televisions equipped with Nintendo handsets and a wall lined with colorful childrens books to amuse the nervously waiting kids. And it did, as there were several of them furiously pushing buttons and jerking joysticks, and a few stretched out on beanbags thumbing through kids magazines, which of course meant Camryn and I would be sitting on the other not so fun end of the office next to the bathrooms and water fountain, clear of any child not old enough or big enough to physically defend themselves against Cambo (as I affectionately refer to her in these times). Now anybody who has ever been to a medical/dental appointment of any kind knows that the appointment time is never, ever the time you will actually be seen and that to get a  more accurate idea of your actual meeting with the doctor you should tack on at least a good thirty minutes in the waiting room ,then an additional ten minutes of waiting in the exam room. I knew this and figured Cams and I would be sitting by that water fountain for quite a while. I did not however foresee issues with the insurance company that I had just spoken with days earlier to confirm this very appointment, yet there they were...insurance issues. And because it was 8:45 and the insurance company did not open until 9:00 I would have to self pay or reschedule. Reschedule? Ummmmm, no, that will not be happening. Unlike my drive down south on open highway, this drive was mostly on U.S. 19 which if you live locally then you know it as the road from hell, plus I had to keep Camryn out of school for the whole day for this appointment, so there is no way I was going to do this again anytime soon. I self paid, got a receipt which I will be submitting for reimbursement and then took Cams back to get her "sedation". Now, when I think of sedation, I think of sedated as in not moving, as in asleep with an I.V. in your arm. Camryn has never been able to be examined by a dentist EVER because she will not let you in to see those chompers of hers unless you plan on leaving them in there permanently, like bitten off permanently. Brad and I have struggled her entire enameled life to get in there and give her teeth some sort of chance of survival, but if the girl doesn't want you in her mouth, then you're not getting in her mouth...end of story. With Mason and Natalie, brushing morning and night has always been the routine. But with Cam, I am gonna be honest here and say that there have been days that her teeth didn't see a bristle of any means and I just prayed that crunchy raw carrots or super crisp apples would be on the school lunch menu to pick up the slack and slough off some tartar. I have taken her to two "regular" dentists whom I forewarned about Camryn before setting the appointment and it was always the same response.."Oh you never know, we may be able to do the exam" and I just thought, "Oh no, I know, but whatever you say...". Cams insurance requires she be seen by a regular dentist who must then try to do a regular exam until they come to the conclusion that Camryn's mother was right when she said that  a regular exam was not going to happen at which point a referral to a pediatric dentist with an option of sedation would be written and all staff involved in the attempted regular exam would then take a five minute break to wipe the sweat off their brows and redo their hair. I told you so.
 So, here we were at the sedation dentistry office finally and the hygienist walks over with a paper cup that she is stirring some sort of mixture in. I secretly hoped it was a cocktail for me, but of course it wasn't. "Here Camryn, here is some cake icing! Do you like cake icing? Yummy!" She then explained to me that this was no ordinary cake icing, but cake icing with crushed up Valium mixed in! I'm not sure this is what Betty Crocker had in mind, but Betty, you really should have. What a fabulous concoction! Unfortunately, I would be having none of it, but Ms Cams, she would be having several spoonfulls before she took a little nappy-nap. I've never had a dentist appointment like this! The hygienist said that we had to wait an hour for the Valium to take full effect, so in the meantime we would wait in the "Sedation Room", a darkened exam room with a leather couch, a blanket and a Disney movie. And coffee, please say coffee...but she didn't. She said that Camryn would get sleepy and could go to sleep if she wanted, most kids do. Okay, but Cams is not most kids and I immediately thought back to the time she got an ABR test for hearing when she was a year and a half. The nurse administered a liquid that was supposed to make Camryn go to sleep for an hour. But forty-five minutes and an extra dose later, the nurse was in shock that Cams was still awake and we had to do the test with me holding her still. So when this girl told me most kids went to sleep, I knew Cams and the sandman would not be hanging out that morning. It was 9:08 at this time and we would stay in the room until 10:08. It was so dark and the air was so cold and the blanket was so warm and fuzzy and the couch was so comfy. My eyes started to droop and I wondered how I would ever stay awake after getting up with the sun to drive all the way up here and then just sit here with my drugged up daughter who was showing no signs of getting sleepy at all. I managed to stay conscious till 10:08 and of course so did Cams. Just as I thought. The hygienist came to get us and we walked back to the exam room. Cams crawled up into the big chair and then shoved white tiger in the hygienists face and demanded that she smell him and then smell him again and then again. After she had sniffed him up and down, she gave the tiger back to Cam and put the big heavy lead apron over Cams body so she could take X-rays. Perfect! Cams loves "weighted" things, such as blankets and vests. They are often used in therapy and at bedtime, as the pressure of the extra weight makes kids like Cam feel good. Every night when I tuck Camryn in, I cover her with a sheet, a comforter and then top her off with a three pound weighted patchwork quilt. So, beneath the pressure of the lead apron, Cams was laying reasonably still. I was given the job of pressing the X-ray button just outside the exam room when I got the okay from the hygienist, who was going to be trying her darndest to hold Cams head still long enough to get a picture. Even with a Valium circulating through her system, Cams was wide awake and very mobile. I doubted I would be pushing any buttons that day and was completely caught off guard when I heard "Okay Mom, push the button". The hygienist had gotten Cam to hold still long enough to get an X-ray! "Okay Camryn, bite down on this again." Ohhhhh I thought to myself, that's how this is going so well, Camryn is being told to bite!
We were able to get three X-rays total. Not as many as we needed but three more than we thought we'd get. So far so good. Then it came time for the cleaning. The hygienist took off the lead apron and started to hang it back up. I didn't want to tell her how to do her job, but was sure she wouldn't be against me trying to make it a little easier so I chimed in "You may want to leave that on her. The weight of it is helping her stay still." Without a seconds hesitation she draped it over Cams body again.
 Then came  the part I had been dreading. The part where my daughters underbrushed,rarely flossed,never fluoridated teeth would be on display for dental professionals to view in awe and disgust. The part where disapproving glances would surely be cast my way, heads shaking in disbelief that a parent would neglect their childs dental health in such a way. I wanted to shout out " But you don't understand!!! She doesn't let us get in there. And she's so strong! She kicks and bites and pushes us away! Please! Listen to me, you have to believe me!" As the hygienist looked my way and opened her mouth to speak, I scrunched up in my chair and braced myself for the worst. Okay, bring it on, lay it on me,scold me, lecture me, belittle me. "Well, her teeth look great!"
Her teeth look great? Look great???? HER TEETH LOOK GREAT??????
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" She shook her head. "No, they look good! It may be a battle, but you're winning it." Winning it? We hardly even get the chance to fight it! I was in complete shock! There was my daughter, laying in a dental chair, having her rarely really brushed good teeth examined for the first time in seven years, valium swimming through her veins and the hygienist is telling me all looks good? Did I take some acid this morning and forget about it? This was just too freakin' weird!
The hygienist looked at me and said "Let me ask you something....is she Down's?" I could not believe she just asked me this because you may remember from my previous post that Brad and I have suspected Camryn could have a mild form of Down Syndrome and are having her tested. "Why do you ask that? Does she look Down's to you?" The hygienist explained that children with Down Syndrome rarely get cavities due to the excess of saliva they produce and possibly something in the acidic make-up of their saliva as well. She thought Camryn had a mild look and was wondering if that was why, in spite of our inability to clean her teeth well, her oral health was good. I told her how we were getting her tested and how funny that was that she would have asked that. I also told her that Down's or not, Camryn definitely had an excess of saliva, which I'm sure has something to with the hypotonia, or low tone, of her mouth. Whatever the reason, praise Jesus!!! I really was not looking forward to driving all the way back up here for another cup of icing and a mouth full of metal. Still in shock, I thanked the hygienist and the dentist who had also made his way into the exam. I was given instructions to watch Cams the rest of the day, as the Valium would still be in her system for several hours. No running, no stair climbing and no riding a bike. Okay, no problem, especially seeing as Cams doesn't ride a bike on non-Valium days either! I scheduled her a for a six month checkup before we left and then Cams and I climbed in the car. No cavities, nooooo cavities! I just couldn't believe the girl known to suck on three balls of sugar on a stick ( or Tootsie-pops as they are more formally known) at one time had just been given a clean bill of oral health by the dentist! Will wonders never cease?
The rest of the day, Cams was Cams. I don't know where that Valium went or what it was supposed to be doing, but it certainly wasn't affecting Miss Camryn. Of course, everyone we know was awating word of how bad the news was. How many cavities, root canals, etc. And of course they were as shocked as I was to hear the reults.
I would love to end this entry on a positive note, however I feel it would not be complete without the following information. The same week I took Camryn to the dentist, I also took Natalie for her first dental exam. Natalie, four year old, I brush my teeth twice a day, Natalie. I sat in the waiting room as the hygienist took her back without a care in the world. I even read the paper and a gossip magazine to pass the time. When the dentist peeked out  and called me back to let me know how it went, I yawned as I walked through the door. "Okay so how did it go?" I asked, ready to schedule her next check up and get on with my day.
 The dentist opened up Nat's chart and pointed to a print-out of her mouth. "Well, unfortunately Natalie is going to need some fillings. She has five cavities." I swallowed hard, put my eyes back in my head and thought to myself  "Okay wow, I am going to need some icing!"