Nub Needs Filling

Ugh. Nub had a dentist appointment today and it confirmed what we thought: he has a cavity that needs filling.

That can be difficult enough to accomplish for any kid, as evidenced by the growth of dentists specializing in kids' teeth and sedation dentistry. (Myself, I'm completely neurotic about it.) But for kids with DS, it can be especially tricky.

First off, Nub's only 3 years old, so he's not going to hold still for 1) a shot in the mouth, and 2) a drill in the mouth. Plus, he'd be too uncontrolled and violent if we tried. (Heck, I feel violent at the dentist.) Normal sedation doesn't work for him, so he requires an actual general anesthesia IV sedation, which can only be done by a M.D. not a D.D.S. Just to make it interesting, Nub's veins tend to be too small to stick in the arm or leg, and they roll; therefore the stick (for blood draw, anyway) is in the forehead.

There is exactly one dentist in the area who has an agreement with a M.D. from the hospital to come out one day a month to do anesthesia for kids like Nub. Oh, and the M.D. doesn't take any kind of insurance.

To top it off, I was forced to spend all my flex dollars when I quit my job last week, so that's not an option. So that's gonna cost me big: $$$$. Grrr!