We have a date

Luke's dentist called this morning and they were able to get Luke's surgery scheduled for August 22nd at 8am. So thankful it's first thing in the morning. We have to go in on the 15th for his pre-op to meet with the cardiac anesthesiologist. Our dentist doesn't think the procedure will last more than an hour, hopefully less. This will include a cleaning, x-rays, fluoride treatment and then the fillings and sealants. Our boy is going to come out sparkly and shiny!

My big question to Dr. Beck was how do we make sure we don't end up back in the O.R. in a year if he gets another cavity. His response was very reassuring. He said the reason we're in the O.R. at all is because Luke is four. Luke at six or seven is a whole different story. At that age, it is super manageable to treat cavities in the office and not have to use any sedation. Our goal, obviously, is to steer clear of cavities in the future, but it's nice to know we won't be looking at another surgery if one does crop up.

We asked all three pediatric dentists we saw their opinion on why Luke got these cavities. The first guy, Dr. O., actually had a theory we are following up on with an ENT doc in September. He noticed that Luke's tonsils and adenoids were enlarged, which could be causing him to mouth-breathe at night. If that's the case (and I have seen it a few times when I check on him in the wee hours while I stumble to little miss' room) then Luke doesn't have the saliva protecting his teeth overnight. I asked him if this could correlate with how gaggy Luke is when he gets a cold and he said most definitely. Not fun to add another doctor's appointment to our summer, but Dr. O. really pushed for us to get Luke checked. And definitely not fun to think about another possible surgery! I vote these heart kiddo's should be exempt from any type of procedure not related to the heart!