Orthodentist Soon Questions

[kaiess]

My son will be needed braces in about a year. We had an appointment with the orthodentist (only one) that comes to our community. I told him my son has Celiac and we'd need to be certain the products he uses are gluten-free. His response "Well he's not ingesting anything so you don't need to worry about that". WHAT!?!?!!? I was floored by his response. I will NOT be using this guy and will drive my son to the next city if I have to!! Have any of you dealt with the orthodentist and do I have anything to worry about? I'm concerned about the cement they use.

Thanks

Kathy, mom to Jakob, almost 12, dx Type1 diabetes Mar2004, Celiac Mar2010

[shadowicewolf]

eh, i don't think there would be gluten in the cement, but you never know. I know the molds and such probably do (because they are often flavored... ick).

Try to find someone who works with kids. I was in othidontic stuffs for 8 years (due to a very BAD mouth) and i had to go 80 miles to get to my orthodontist appointment (which were twice a month). I know now that i would not have been as good as i was if not for that.

Also please keep in mind that not every one knows about celiac and must be educated about it (unforcenently). Take everything with a grain of salt.

[love2travel]

If his teeth get cleaned for some reason (or even rinsed) ensure that is safe as well. Just saw my dentist last week (he is informed about celiac stuff) who told me that neither the rinse nor the fluoride was safe.

As a slight aside - after being gluten free for six months, this cleaning was far less painful than usual as my enamel is much stronger. The hygienist said that my teeth used to be "good" but now they are "excellent"!

[AzizaRivers]

Compare it to a peanut allergy. That's the only way to get certain people to take it seriously because it's something they're familiar with. "It doesn't matter whether or not he swallows anything, a minuscule amount of contact to his mouth will cause a serious reaction. It's similar to the sensitivity of someone with a peanut allergy, he cannot put anything near his mouth without being sure the ingredients are safe."

As far as I know, wherever you take him, you have the right to ask to see the containers, bottles, etc. or anything so you can make sure it's safe. If they won't let you see, you go somewhere else.

As far as actual ingredients, I don't know. I doubt the presence of gluten in them, but we all know better than to assume.

[Notso]

My husband is an orthodontist, and he checked ingredients on the glue and molds they use after our youngest was diagnosed.. Nothing had gluten. I'd ask again, explaining it like a peanut allergy as mentioned above, but I think you'll be fine!