You drew stars around my scars

Dentist

Taylor sat down next to Jessica on the sofa, she tapped the teen gently to get her attention "So, I didn't tell you before but I scheduled you a dentist appointment for this afternoon. You haven't been since you've been living with me so it was overdue" Jessica groaned slightly, throwing her head back "ergh I hate the dentist!". Taylor nodded and laughed lightly "I know – that's why I didn't tell you". Jessica glared slightly at her as she ran her tongue over her teeth but quickly realised she wasn't getting out of the appointment. She slouched down on the sofa, grumbling away as Taylor laughed at her reaction.

Later that afternoon Taylor bundled the teen into the car, she could tell Jessica was nervous and tried to lighten the mood "I remember taking you to the dentist when you were about 5, your front baby tooth was soo wobbly but you wouldn't let them touch it. We had to tell you the tooth fairy gave extra money if it came out at the dentist – you reached up and pulled it out yourself there and then!" Jessica grinned, vaguely remembering it "Hated the dentist back then too..." Taylor looked at her and rolled her eyes "I don't think anyone likes the dentist. It's just one of those necessary things". Jessica pouted and continued to bite her nails.

As soon as they arrived Taylor checked her in and began to fill out the necessary paperwork, soon enough the dentist called them through, Taylor practically had to shove Jessica into the chair. The dentist flicked through the paperwork and then glanced between Jessica and Taylor "any other information I need to know? Any significant past medical history?" Jessica shook her head – just wanting to get this over with but Taylor nodded "Jessica is currently recovering from an eating disorder – she had some inpatient treatment and we are continuing with recovery at home now." The dentist smiled sympathetically and jotted this information down. He then turned back to the teen "Ok, eating disorders can cause ongoing problems with your teeth – let's see what we are dealing with then we can come up with a plan". Jessica glanced at Taylor, biting her lower lip as she heard about the 'problems' but Taylor just smiled reassuringly at her as the dentist began to lower the chair.

The dentist prodded and poked around for the next 10 minutes then quickly took some x-rays and photos from the teen. Jessica's jaw began to ache from being kept open and her anxiety was beginning to spiral again – she began picking at her nails desperately, trying to distract herself. The dentist tapped her lower molars, noticing as the teen flinched slightly "was that sensitive?" Jessica agreed as best she could and the dentist continued to explore. After a couple more minutes he sat the chair up slowly. "Ok we have a few things to unpick here. Have you been having any tooth sensitivity?" Jessica shrugged slightly "erm, not really?" He smiled "great!" He turned around and brought up the x-rays and photos to discuss with the pair "I can see that the eating disorder has definitely impacted on your teeth, but that's ok we can help fix it". Jessica turned towards Taylor – the fear written all over her face, the blonde moved closer to Jessica and squeezed her hand "Ok so what's going on?"

He pointed towards the x-rays as he spoke "I can see some demineralisation on all the teeth – this is very common in patients with Anorexia. Your body didn't get the minerals and vitamins it needed for an extended period of time. That often causes problems with the teeth. It's really important to maintain a healthy balanced diet to stop further deterioration. I can put a paste on today and you should use a high fluoride toothpaste twice a day." Taylor nodded "Is that the same as decay?" The dentist shook his head "it's more of a brittleness in the teeth – often caused by vitamin A deficiency. However this is some decay evident too on the lower molars – those cavities will require fillings to maintain the integrity of the teeth. Unfortunately I am also noticing erosion on the lingual and occlusal surfaces of the posterior teeth". Jessica gulped as he spoke, sensing it wasn't good news, Taylor squeezed her hand tightly as the dentist continued "frequent vomiting can cause enamel erosion on the teeth – essentially the teeth are worn down which can lead to sensitivity. Luckily yours isn't too severe, it's in the early stages." When Jessica didn't respond Taylor spoke up again "Ok so essentially the teeth are slightly worn and brittle with a couple of cavities?" The dentist nodded, pointing out the suspicious areas on the x-rays and photos again. Taylor stared at them intently, trying not to give her concern away "So what is the treatment plan?"

The dentist looked between Taylor and the teen, sensing the nervous energy in the air "There are a few steps we can take, it's going to take a few appointments to get everything sorted but that's not uncommon. Firstly, I'd like to apply a fluoride paste to the teeth today -this can strengthen the enamel and make it more resistant to any further decay. We will also need probably two separate appointments to fill those cavities – they can be restored with tooth coloured fillings. We will increase check ups to 3 monthly rather than 6 monthly just to check on everything, if there are any other concerns we can intervene early then. The final thing that I personally would like is a nightguard, I can see you have been grinding your teeth which is also very common in anxiety but causes further wear down of the enamel. If you wore a nightguard it would stop the grinding and prevent further wear and tear on the teeth. We could do impressions for that today?"

Taylor frowned slightly "what would that be like?" The dentist brought up some photos "Essentially like Invisalign, it stops the teeth surfaces touching when the jaw is clenched. Of course – if you wanted to explore braces we could also consider that and then a retainer would also work?" Jessica's head whipped round frantically, her eyes wide with shock. Taylor giggled at the expression on the teen's face "I think it's probably a bit too much to consider braces right now – let's focus on this first and we can discuss that at another time". The doctor nodded in agreement, "Ok so let's take some impressions today – we will get the nightguard made then I will apply the fluoride paste. You can schedule the appointments to have those cavities filled at the front desk – we will fit the nightguard at the first appointment because it'll take about a week to come. We will have you sorted in 1-2 weeks and then we can plan care moving forward. Sound ok?" Jessica nodded quietly as Taylor smiled "Sounds great!".

The dentist quickly took the impressions, Taylor snapping a quick picture of the girl with the molds in her mouth, remembering her own YouTube video in a similar situation. Once she had rinsed out her mouth the dentist quickly dried her teeth and applied the fluoride treatment, brushing it all over the surfaces of the teeth. He sat her back up again "Ok – that's all for today. No eating or drinking for the next hour. Don't brush your teeth or floss for the next 4 hours. Other than that you're good to go. I'll see you next week for the treatments!" Jessica thanked him and stood up quickly, desperate to get away – Taylor smirked as Jessica practically sprinted out. She thanked the dentist and quickly scheduled Jessica's treatment appointments. The two of them walked out and jumped into Taylor's car, Jessica pulled down the mirror, looking intently at her teeth "this paste tastes awful!" Taylor rolled her eyes "it'll go away. You did so well in there Buddy!" Jessica rumbled "my teeth are broken!" Taylor laughed lightly "Not broken – just need some TLC. This time next month you'll be good as new!"