The Miracle of Life: How the Twins Came to Be

      Throughout our marriage my wife and I have had difficulty getting pregnant.  I know its hard to believe considering we have been blessed with five beautiful children.  After our second child was born we tried repeatedly to have another baby. We were fortunate enough to use the fertility clinic at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii while we were in the Air Force, but after several attempts and still no baby we decided to give it a rest for a while.

    We moved back to Utah and considered adoption but nothing seemed to be coming together so we ended that process as well.  After careful consideration and saving lots of money, we decided to do in vitro fertilization, which is quite a process.  To put it simply, the female loads up on lots of medications and the fertility specialists combine sperm and several plump eggs in a petri dish and hope at least a few of them take.  After five days, when the embryos consist of hundreds of cells called a blastocyst, the most healthy ones are implanted into the uterus of the mother.

     The day we arrived at Reproductive Care Center for the implantation procedure we were full of doubt and hope.  We doubted that it could be as simple as implanting a couple of embryos and hoped that all would go well and we would soon be parents again.  

    We were escorted into a room with a small bed, some medical equipment and a television monitor mounted to the wall in the corner.  They prepared my wife for the procedure and together we awaited the arrival of the doctor.  He stepped in the room and told us how promising two of the five embryos looked and expressed his confidence that all would go well.

   He then turned to look through a glass window into the other room where the embryologist was preparing two of the embryos for implantation.   The embryologist told the doctor he was ready then stepped into the room and handed him a small container with the embryos inside.  He said to us, “If you’d like you can look up at the monitor and see what’s going on.”

     Just as we looked up we saw two fuzzy round spheres, that appeared on the monitor to be the size of golf balls, being aspirated into a tube.  As they rolled along I felt this surge of love flow through me and I thought of a line from Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

    As I was having this surreal experience, I asked the doctor how big they were.  He said, “About the size of a grain of sugar.  Sweet little things aren’t they?”

    My wife and I both smiled with moist eyes and replied, “Yes they are!”

    Throughout the rest of the pregnancy, we were so excited as we thought about the amazing miracle of life that was taking place. Within a couple days our little babies would consist of thousands of cells and then millions.  Within four weeks their neural tube would close and their arms, ears and eyes would begin to develop.  By the end of the sixth week their internal organs, facial features and teeth would begin developing.  And finally by the end of eight weeks they would be approximately 3/4 of an inch long, with all their organs created, little elbows and toes moving and a beating heart.  Their precious little bodies would be formed and ready to grow exponentially until birth and throughout their childhood! 

fetus at 6 weeks in utero

Twins at 2 Years Old

I have loved having these little guys in my life and I am grateful for having witnessed such a miracle.

Stay tuned for the next blog post where the story continues and we take a closer look at the development of their precious little teeth!

The Disappearing Cavities!

    During my wife's pregnancy with our first child she was very sick with nausea and vomiting. She couldn't hold down any food or water without throwing up.  Several times we went to the emergency room for an IV to replenish lost fluids.  I had never seen anyone get so dehydrated that their digestive system completely shut down and an IV was needed.

   Near the middle of the second trimester her amazing OB, Dr. Parker, figured out a drug combination that helped reduce the nausea just enough for her to eat a little. She could tolerate saltine crackers and mashed potatoes from Bob Evans but the thought of brushing and flossing would cause her to vomit.  So the wonderful oral hygiene habits she had developed throughout her life had to be postponed in order to eat.

     Following the birth of our beautiful baby girl, my wife came into the dental clinic at Ohio State for a check up.  I was a fourth year dental student there and anxious to help her get back on track with her oral health following her pregnancy. Her x-rays showed that she had several incipient caries (small cavities between the teeth extending part way through the outer enamel).  The acidic plaque left on her teeth, by not being able to brush and floss, were to blame.      

      I showed the x-rays to my instructor and he reminded me that my wife had the perfect cavities for my upcoming Regional Board Licensing Examination.  In fact, all the staff and students called these type of cavities "Board Lesions".  I was elated!  I went around showing the x-rays to all the other dental students bragging about how my wife had the perfect cavities for my test.  They were envious of me because many of them were still looking for a patient to help them with their exam.  
     My wife and I made a plan to help her keep her cavities in their current condition until May for the Board Examination.  We didn't want these sweet little lesions to change a bit.  They were like baby bear's oatmeal in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"...they were just right!   
     Our plan included brushing two times a day with prescription fluoridated toothpaste, flossing and rinsing daily with ACT fluoride rinse.  She followed the plan religiously from January to May attempting to keep her cavities in perfect condition for my test so that I could become a licensed dentist.                                                                      

     

     A week before the exam I took another set of x-rays just to get one final look at my perfect little cavities and to my dismay they were gone!  I couldn't believe it!  I took another set of x-rays at a different angle just to make sure I wasn't missing anything and still they were gone.  I showed them to my fellow students and instructors and they couldn't find them either.  

     My colleagues asked how they just disappeared.  I discussed with them the plan my wife and I had made to preserve her cavities and soon we all realized that the lessons taught during the first years of dental school about reversing dental decay with oral hygiene and fluoride were true!  We were witnessing our first case study on how miraculous teeth are in their ability to heal!  They just need to be in the right environment with the right building blocks and as long  as the decay remains in the enamel it can be reversed.

Diagram of my wife's teeth with
early or incipient caries.  Notice
the dark lesion (cavity) on the
side of the tooth.

  

Diagram of my wife's teeth after the
4 month hygiene program.  Notice the
lesion on the side of the tooth is now gone.

     This experience has been my personal evidence and inspiration to practice and promote preventive dentistry.  There is ample evidence in dentistry illustrating how this very same healing process can and does occur in all of us.

     I am creating this dental blog as a way of sharing this experience and others with as many people as possible.  I plan to share the science, evidence and stories that will empower us to see our bodies and teeth for what they are...an amazing gift!

Please let me know if I can answer any questions you may have about your oral health.  Some topics may include:

Do I really need to floss?

How does diet effect my teeth?

What is the best way to brush my teeth?

Is fluoride good for me?

Do I need dental insurance?

What's the best way to prevent cavities?