Celiac Kids And Orthodontics? Question?

[Melmelsmom]

Ok quick question.

My daughter has not been getting better since on her diet for now 7 weeks and it is more like she is getting worse.

Her Drs and I have been doing everything possible to elemenate all sources of gluten in her life even buyinh all new stainless steel cookware and so on.

Still she seems worse and has been missing school in the 7th grade alot which worries me because of the fear she will fall far behind.

It just hit me thismorning something I had not thought about and that is that my daughter has some bands on her upper back molars that are sealed there with an orthodontic glue or cement of some sort and she also has a retainer in her mouth........I wonder if any of the ingredients in the glue/cement or in the retainer would be something that would contain gluten? If so then she has been exposed everyday and if we take those away from her she may be able to start feeling better.

Any other parents out there with any thoughts on this? Advise would be great.

Thanks for your time.

Blessings,

Melmelsmom

[buffettbride]

Hmmmm. I don't know about the orthodontic adhesive (good question, though).

Couple things to consider, if you haven't already...

-Is there any possibility she is cheating and eating something she knows she shouldn't? (I'm not saying she is, I'm just giving a laundry list of possibilities)

-Have you checked her toothpaste? Mouthwash?

-Does she wear lipstick or lipgloss or chapstick and have you verified that it is gluten-free?

-Did you change cooking utensils as well? Wooden spoons, cutting boards, strainers, etc. are often culprits?

-Have you tried removing dairy and/or casein from her diet? Many newly diagnosed Celiacs canno tolerate dairy for a while?

-Have you made sure she is not getting any hidden gluten such as in malt flavoring or oats/oat flour?

-Is she kissing anyone who might have gluten on their lips?

-Is she making sure to wash her hands before she puts anything in her mouth? This is especially important at school when her hands come into contact with surfaces where other children have eaten.

-Is she in a Home Ec class or have a class near a Home Ec class where she could be exposed to gluten products? The same would go for art class...

[blueeyedmanda]

I got braces after my diagnosis and just got them off in May. The cement was no problem at all. I even cehcked. Hope that helps.

Also the retainer is removable, so if she is taking it out in a gluten filled atmosphere it could be getting CC and there would be no way of knowing that.

[EBsMom]

It just hit me thismorning something I had not thought about and that is that my daughter has some bands on her upper back molars that are sealed there with an orthodontic glue or cement of some sort and she also has a retainer in her mouth........

That's a very good question. My dd's reflux symptoms (main GI problem) started after she got braces and I wondered for a while if the braces were causing the reflux. Later we figured out that she had a gluten intolerance, though....and she continued to get worse when the braces were removed, so in hindsight, I don't think the braces had anything to do with it. She wears a retainer now and it doesn't seem to cause her any problems. Also, my ds (who also turned out to be gluten intolerant) has had braces all along, and has improved a lot on the gluten-free diet.

I second the recommendation that you consider other foods that might be an issue for your dd. My dd had to give up dairy shortly after going gluten-free, and then several weeks later, soy. It took eliminating all of those things (gluten, diary, soy) to put her on the track of real improvement. She's only gotten better since then.

Good luck to you!

Rho