Anti-Dentite

If you know me at all by now, you know that my kids’ teeth are very important to me. From the time Bud popped his first pearly white, I have been a basket case about teeth being knocked out, and cavities and anything remotely dental related. I am very laid back about many things as a parent (really, I am!!), but about teeth, I am so not.

A few weeks ago Hub and I took the kids in for their 6 month dental cleaning and checkup only to find out that the pediatric dentist had a death in her family and was not able to check the kids out. They were seen by the hygienists though and the cleanings and x-rays went well. Lucy had no issues to speak of. Bud and Liv though, were a different story.
I have perfect teeth!


Bud has had issues with his teeth for a very long time. You may remember when he had an extra tooth extracted from in between his 2 front teeth, just before he started Kindergarten. At the time of that extraction, the original plan was to remove the extra tooth as well as his 2 front teeth, which I was completely against. When we showed up for the surgery, the pediatric dentist was uncomfortable with taking the tooth out because of the roots and many prongs, so she had the actual oral surgeon come in. He removed the extra and said he saw no reason to take out the fronts. The x-rays showed that Bud’s permanent teeth, which were still under the gums, had been turned to the side because of the expanding extra tooth. We hoped that with it out of there, that they would turn around, and come in somewhat straight. We’ve had no such luck, and in addition, keeping the front teeth, which were really secured in there, caused some more problems with the spacing. One did come out on its own, but Bud had the second one pulled yesterday. As you can imagine, with 2 traumatic experiences under his belt, Bud is not a big fan of the dentist. And he is not looking forward to the first of what will be MANY orthodontic appointments in June. He is young for braces, but we are likely looking at spacers to keep the teeth in the right spots as his mouth grows and then braces later on.
I'm not even showing you my teeth anymore


When Live saw the hygienist, she indicated that her 2 year molars—which she just got--had already developed cavities; she said that the enamel was very soft. The dentist yesterday said this is a defect that occurs during fetal development; was probably nothing I did or didn’t do, but is likely just genetics. (I have very very soft teeth, so the genetic thing makes sense.) Hub and I were hoping that she could maybe just seal them in the office, but since these are teeth that she will keep until she is 11 or 12, they need to be capped. Capping takes about 30 minutes a tooth and can take longer on a small mouth. The recommendation is to have her go to the local children’s hospital, where she will be sedated, and the dentist will do all 4 caps. She’s been through anesthesia with her tubes before and was just fine, but I still don’t like the idea of my baby being put under. And I don’t know if Hub asked about this or not (I was at work) but I want them to be white caps, not metal. The pediatric dentist isn’t in again until tomorrow, so I am going to call her. She wanted Hub to pre-register for the procedure right then and there, but he brought all the paperwork home so she doesn’t end up being scheduled when I am away. In any case, we’ll need to fix them sooner rather than later so they don’t rot.
This is not why I have cavities!


I’m not looking forward to the months/years ahead with all of this, but at least I know that what we do now, will go a long way towards the kids having healthy mouths for a long time to come. It won’t be fun, and it certainly won’t be cheap, but it will be worth it.