Today is day 2 of no sugar. On Monday I decided that enough is enough, I have read the articles, I have done the research, I know what sugar does to your body yet I still consume it on a daily basis. I kept telling myself that if I had a health reason to stop I would but there are many health issues I deal with that sugar doesn't help. The fact is, it is just not good for you. I don't feed it to Pea so why do I keep eating it myself? It just doesn't make sense.
So this is day 2 of my new diet and last night I refused a cinnamon bun offer, sure it took everything in me to say no but once I did I felt so proud. I knew I did not need an insulin spike at 10 pm at night when I have been having trouble sleeping already.
The drive behind this new life change is Pea. I would do anything for her and I am going to try everything to help her.
Let's back up to a few weeks ago.
Pea was playing and watching out the window when she fell smashing her front teeth against the window pane, in the middle of screaming and nursing I was trying to get a look inside her mouth and thats when I spotted it. A line across her top left tooth, with some noticeable chipping on the enamel. At the time I thought it was damage from the fall but now I know better, as much as I hate to write this because it kills me inside, Pea has tooth decay. I realized it when browsing some threads on Mothering, I came across a thread called "My 18 month old DD has dental caries" something prompted me to click on it and I read about caries and realized that is exactly what Pea has. That night I got out a flashlight and she let me look in her mouth \ and I noticed white spots on most of her top teeth. I was completely heartbroken, actually I need to rephrase that I am still completely heartbroken, mortified and shocked, but I have hope. That night I stayed up late researching, and in the morning I made an appointment with a pediatric dentist. I feel so torn up about this, the really shocking part to me is that she has a really clean diet, doesn't eat sugar, hardly ever has juice and is nursed. Her teeth have been brushed at least once a day but in most cases twice or even three times a day, we don't use flouride and we have always wiped her gums.
I had been stressing over the experiences I have read online, about fixing baby teeth under anesthetic, holding your child down while the dentist fills small cavities, if its going to get worse, etc...etc. I was doubting myself and the path we had chosen but then I came across threads and websites on remineralization of the teeth and I learned, you can heal your teeth through nutrition. I learned that tooth decay can come from a vitamin deficiency and suddenly I realized that I might just know what Pea and I are deficient in. Immediately I sent a note to my natural pharmacist and asked for his option. He comforted me and told me that I was right about healing your teeth, as well as avoiding flouride and gave me several suggestions. We are going to see him the day after the dentist appointment and we will go over the treatment plan then. He thinks that Pea may have problems in her gut with adequately absorbing Calcium, so he will test for that when we go see him.
I think what pains me the most is that I have had horrible dentist experiences and I don't want her to go through what I did. I have felt so much shame over my teeth and always wondered what more I could have done, after all I brushed just as much as everyone else. When I was 7 years old I had a dental hygienist tell me my teeth were terrible and I would never get a boyfriend if I didn't brush my teeth, and that was only one of the negative remarks I received through all the years of fillings I went through.
I have hope though, and I have faith in Pea's body to heal. Let's see what unfolds.....
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