Dentist

Annabelle was discharged from the ENT clinic just in time to be referred to another specialist - this time, a pediatric dentist with advanced training.

Dr. Mazurek was fabulous! I highly recommend him if you are in need of a pediatric dentist in Little Rock. He really made a game out of the entire visit, his office decoration held her interest, his prizes were fun-shaped molds to paint/color, and the staff was friendly and helpful. Above, Bella is smiling after her X-rays. Below, he is singing a fun song about each section of her teeth while "brushing" (and also keeping her mouth open to check her teeth).

Annabelle has a fused tooth on the bottom (a lateral incisor fused to a canine), and she's missing the other canine on the bottom, so all the bottom teeth are spread apart. (Reference this picture from Riverfest.) Her second molars are late in erupting (the first is starting to come in now), but X-rays show that they are all four present. On the top, there is a larger tooth where a lateral incisor ought to be, which grew in perpendicular but has straightened out somewhat, although it seems to have grown into her central tooth such that they are now probably fused (or possibly they were already). The X-rays show some other oddities in that area, but we'll just watch it and get a better X-ray when she's older to see how it's affecting the development of her adult teeth.

Annabelle has had various minor medical oddities: laryngomalacia (still present but asymptomatic); nasolacrimal duct obstruction (now corrected); sacral temple (harmless indentation in her skin at the bottom of her spinal cord - luckily not causing problems along the spina bifida spectrum!); umbilical hernia that resolved into an "outie" bellybutton; double hair swirl (almost looked like three swirls, which could have been indicative of a syndrome, so thankfully it wasn't!); geographic tongue (benign); and now these funky teeth. Fortunately, none of these issues seem to have caused her any problems.

We are glad to have a healthy "almost 3-year-old" (as she will tell you, if you ask her age).