Fluoride treatment at dentist

[rachael]

My 3 year old HFIer saw the dentist today. They used pummus for the cleaning and did a fluoride treatment. I asked about ingredients for the fluoride treatment and they only said xylitol. But my son had the runs tonight (which never happens) so I'm wondering if it's a coincidence or if there was something else in there. Are there other kiddos out there who do fluoride treatments or do you turn them down? (we're in the us)

Also, the Boston University sugar list says xylitol is safe depending on purity but that it can cause the runs so maybe it was just that "normal" reaction? He said that his belly felt fine.

[antonia]

Sugar alcohols (all the sweeteners ending in "ol") can have a diuretic effect in anyone. So I wouldn't worry too much about it if he seems to be feeling fine. I would probably take some blood sugars overnight if you're not sure though.

[rachael]

Thanks, that's what i was wondering. He's never once told us that he doesn't feel well, so I'm not sure if he understands the concept yet. we've never taken blood sugars/the doc never talked to us about that. Do you have any particularly good resources for learning about it? When do you take them?

[antonia]

I never received guidance from a doctor either. I just went to the drug store and bought a glucose meter. If you have problems figuring out the meter you can call the manufacturer and they usually provide pretty decent help. Or your pharmacist might help.

I don't really take my daughter's blood sugar anymore unless she's ill, but at one point I took it regularly before bed and fasting blood sugars in morning. When ill, I will take them while she sleeps too. She used to sleep right through it, not sure if she would now.

During the day readings can be all over the place because food is in different stages of digestion, especially if your son does a lot of snacking, but it can be good to see what blood sugars act like before and after meals as well. After meal readings should be taken an hour or two after eating. Just keep the readings consistent. Most info I've read revolves around diabetes so can be hard to sort out for people with non diabetic conditions.

Here's a post from a while ago that might be helpful: hfiinfo.proboards.com/thread/1686/reliable-source-blood-glucose-targets

After a while, I got a general feel for what normal blood sugar readings for my daughter were and at what point she started to show symptoms. Overall, her fasting blood sugars tended to act more like an adults (mid 60's to low 70's) and she started to become symptomatic around the mid to low 60's. Tired, sluggish, weak or shaky, slightly nauseous. By the time she reached the 40's she would be throwing up. But my understanding is that blood sugars are very individual to the person and do change as they grow. She was 5 when I was taking these, they could be different now.

Hope that helps a little. I wish there were better guidelines, maybe your doctor will give you some if you ask.

[antonia]

Forgot to mention you'll want to get a prescription from your doctor so insurance can cover some of the cost. The meters themselves are not too expensive but the test strips and lancets are rightly so.

Also, I know it's difficult to tell when little ones are not feeling well. But when I look back, even though I didn't know my daughter was struggling metabolically, I do know she was almost always grumpy and irritable when she woke up. I bet if I could go back and take blood sugars they could be directly correlated to her mood. I always felt like I must be doing something wrong because all the baby books tell you your child should be happy and rested when they wake up. Mine was not. And I remember once I put her on the HFI diet, her disposition changed drastically and immediately, it was like I had a whole new child. I can actually say I have a child with a cheery disposition now that her metabolism is stabilized. Just something to keep in mind when you're trying to determine whether your little one is having a reaction or not.

[colormist]

Eh, I've noticed a reaction if I have more than two pieces of xylitol gum. My guess is that the amount of xylitol in the fluoride solution is pretty high. My last fluoride treatment had me very sick. I didn't think to ask before the treatment if it had any sugars in the solution. Nowadays I just decline the treatment and used a mouthwash with fluoride and rinse my mouth out with water (since every single mouthwash I've found has bad sugars added).

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Thankfully, the sugar-free diet helps tremendously to prevent cavities :-)

[colormist]

Very true! They're always commenting about how great my teeth and gums are.

[jenn123]

We decline the fluoride treatments at the dentist. For mouthwash, I put a couple drops of peppermint oil in a decanter (with stopper/lid) and fill with water.

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Ooh, peppermint oil! Great idea. I have some on hand because I found a black widow in our house over the summer and only spray outside so my house smelled quite minty for a while!