An appointment to clean my teeth leads to a chance to clear the air
For this hypopara patient, a visit to the dentist means two other doctor visits
It’s easy to forget that not every medical practitioner understands how hypoparathyroidism affects my life. My rare disease is just a footnote at my biannual or annual appointments; unless it’s actively causing a concerning symptom, I sometimes don’t even mention it.
My eye doctor knows hypoparathyroidism, also known as hypopara, can cause cataracts, and my gynecologist knows that hormonal changes and menstrual cycles affect my calcium. My dentist is vaguely aware that hypopara can cause issues with my oral health. But do they know how this condition affects every part of my life, including my ability to keep medical appointments?
Probably not. And it’s on me to disclose that.
The truth is, I’m not a great patient. I can’t tell six months or a year in advance if I’m going to be well enough to keep an appointment. Driving, sitting upright in a waiting room for an undisclosed amount of time, and enduring a potentially lengthy exam are hard on my body. If I’m struggling with a bad rare disease day, I’ll move my checkup, hoping I’ll feel better on the new date.
Communication first, then the cleaning
I recently had to reschedule my biannual dental cleaning due to a migraine that was so bad I was unable to drive safely. The receptionist was disappointed and rescheduled my new cleaning for five months out. Five months is a long time to wait when I have a disease that can lead to dental problems. In fact, I’d just broken a tooth the month before and wanted to follow up on how my other teeth were faring.
And what would happen if I couldn’t make that appointment in five months? I panicked.
I hung up in tears, upset that this office didn’t know my situation. Wait. That was the key: this office didn’t know my situation. They didn’t know because I never explained it to them. This communication issue was on me.
Dentist appointments are always tricky because I have a worn jaw joint that can easily shift out of place — especially with dental work — and can trigger a severe muscle spasm in my neck. Muscle spasms are one of my most common hypopara symptoms. Therefore, whenever I schedule a dentist appointment, I also book a physical therapy and a chiropractor appointment for the next day. If I veer from this plan, the spasms and vertigo that follow can last for weeks. It took years to figure out this system, and it serves me well.
But this means that every time I make one dental appointment, I have to make two other appointments with practitioners who don’t know their schedule six months out. I’m also relying on my health cooperating. It’s a lot of moving parts to get right.
After I calmed down, I thought about my next steps. Sure, I could find a new dentist, but I’d been with this one for nearly 20 years. I decided to listen to my own advice. I emailed the office manager and explained what making a dentist appointment means for me. I told her about my disease, the multiple appointments I need to make, and my desire to stay at this office.
I asked if she could help me figure out a solution, like could I book two appointments a few weeks apart? That way, I had a backup option in the same month. Finally, I asked for a recommendation that may be a better fit if they could not meet my needs.
I’m happy to report that the office manager was so glad I emailed her and explained. She will now be my primary contact and has found me two appointment times for next month, instead of five. I was thrilled we could find a solution, and that I didn’t need a new dentist!
This was a good lesson for me to learn. Oftentimes, people want to help, want to meet a patient where they’re at, but the patient must communicate those needs clearly. I’m sure my therapist would point at me and say something like, “and make sure you do this for everyone else in your life, too.”
Still working on that, but this was a good step forward.
Note: Hypoparathyroidism News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hypoparathyroidism News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hypoparathyroidism.
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