Input requested....could this dental issue be the cause of chronic, pe

[AmySLP]

My clear cut PANDAS dtr. Finally got a tooth filled that we have been attempting to do for at least 9 mos. had to cancel several times due to extreme anxiety and refusal to let dentist in her mouth. Long story short, the decay was into the pulp. Basically the procedure was the closest thing to a root canal you could do to a baby tooth. Dentist said the decay was

so deep. We are pursuing T&A because strep is certainly a problem for which my dtr responds well to abx. Wondering if this tooth decay played some role of underlying infection. I'm going to give tx dose of abx for 5 days (zith) and then resume 2x/week prophylaxis. Would you still aggressively pursue T&A?

 

Thanks,Amy

[hugs2day]

Amy,

I will share my childs story incase it can help you. My 5 year old had chronic pharyngitis (strep sometimes) for about a year. He got T&A and the throat thing resolved but then it turned to impetigo cycling every 4 to 5 weeks. Teeth are also a trigger for him when getting in permanents. Tooth decay is made of streptococcus mutans so it is likely that was the source of your childs flare unless she also gets strep throat.

 

For my son I would definitely say the T&A was beneficial his tonsils were touching and he was chronic with throat infections. But I would highly recommend pre-medicate with treatment dose abx before during and after procedure. We did not get that for my son and the procedure sent him into a terrible long flare. We just didn't know about pandas at the time we thought we were dealing with chronic strep and autism but that was not the case.

 

He is 8 today and has come a long way and my husband and I are not sure he ever had autism its likely he had been suffering from Pandas for a very long time.

 

Teeth are still the biggest trigger for him today. Zithro is the abx that helps him the most and brought him back to us many times. He has not had IVIG just abx and always is improving with setbacks that are much less in intensity when they occur.

 

Whatever you decide good luck If you get the T&A request they are cultured for resistant organisms I wish I had done that.

[Hopeny]

Amy someone commented on my red gums post that zith does not get at mouth bacteria, only something penicillin based