Parents who find themselves holding a handful of their kids’ teeth and in need of emergency dental care will now find quicker help at Fraser Health hospitals, thanks to an incident at Royal Columbian Hospital.
In September, The Record published a story about Keith Renfrey, a Burnaby dad whose seven-year-old son had knocked out seven of his teeth, including three permanent front teeth, during a shopping trip near Royal Columbian Hospital.
Knowing time was of the essence if the teeth were to be saved, Renfrey had picked them off the ground, packed up the family and headed to the New Westminster hospital.
But they had gotten no advice from staff on what to do with the teeth, according to Renfrey, and they had waited an hour only to be told the hospital was not equipped to deal with dental emergencies.
Since it was a Sunday, it had taken another two hours before Renfrey’s son’s teeth could be re-implanted during an emergency dental visit on the far side of Burnaby.
The experience had angered the local dad, and he lodged a complaint with Fraser Health’s Patient Care Quality Office.
“I said I want real follow-up; I want something changed,” Renfrey told the The Record. “I don’t want an apology; I want something changed.”
This week, Fraser Health emergency program director Dr. Neil Barclay sent him an email saying changes had been made at all 12 Fraser Health hospitals.
Each emergency department in the region is now equipped with a dental emergency “kit,” which includes triage instructions for nurses and physicians, Hank’s solution (the most effective medium for keeping knocked-out teeth alive) and gauze.
Staff has also received information about how to deal with patients who come to emergency with dental emergencies.
“This should result in speedier triage of patients with avulsed teeth,” Barclay wrote.
Finally, the health authority is also continuing to work with the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C. to develop a formal on-call system.
Barclay, however, said this last piece will take “considerable time.”
Renfrey is pleased with changes.
“I feel good that it’s out there,” he said.
His son, meanwhile, spent the first month after the accident on an all-liquid diet but is recovering nicely.
Recent two-month follow-up x-rays showed that his three permanent teeth, which are currently being secured with braces, are doing well.
