Tooth Month

I hate that my blog has become something I don't update nearly as often as I probably should. This month has just FLOWN by. I blame it on all the orthodontist and dental visits.

Cameron has been seeing the orthodontist for a few years now. A few years ago, they told me that he would most definitely need braces (he literally has a tooth on the roof of his mouth and his canines are so far UP or DOWN on his gums it's ridiculous...) They quoted me a price and we let it go. I wanted to pay for the braces all at once, because there was a 10% discount. Who wouldn't love to save nearly $500?

Anyway, we put it off a few years, and at his last appointment, the orthodontist told us that he would be ready to go at his next appointment, and we should set up our payments.

Thank heaven for tax refunds....but boo that over half of the refund went to pay for braces.

Anyway, Cam had been playing with his space-maintainer. He'd flicked it with his tongue so much that it was standing up instead of laying down. I called the orthodontist and we went in the next day. After the orthodontist checked him out, he called me back. He said, "He's good to go on the braces, and doesn't even need this space maintainer." Then he pulled out the little bar and we were off on the braces train. I paid for the braces. Biggest, ugliest check I've ever written. Then we set up the appointments. I figured his teeth would need to be cleaned, so we set up a dental appointment. He had a cavity and instead of fighting him in the office, they set him up for a dental surgery. We've done the dental surgery MANY times in the past, but we went to a new facility. They wanted a doctor's approval before surgery, and the surgery was kind of quick notice, so we saw the dentist, went to the doctor, and then did the dental surgery all in 2 days' time. He did well, and was good to go.

Today we got his x-rays, molds and spacers placed. Next Monday he'll be getting the braces. He's excited....he doesn't know WHAT he's in for.

On top of Cam's dental problems, Jake's had issues. One morning while giving him a bath, I noticed that one of his caps was missing from his front teeth. (Quick note, when Jake was 18 months, he had dental surgery to cover his severely thin and rotten front teeth. They grew in rotted, it was quite sad.) I called the dentist, and they had him come in the next day. Jake was VERY brave. He went back to the seat all by himself, and sat still while they cleaned his teeth. I was in the waiting room worrying whether he was okay. After he was done with the cleaning, they brought me back. He had MANY cavities and they asked how he'd do with in-office visits to fix them. I worried that he'd get frustrated with it, and asked about getting him set up for dental surgery. The dentist agreed, and we set it up, but not for MANY weeks. Funny enough, Jake's dental dilemma was WAY before Cam's, but Jake is STILL waiting to go in for surgery.

This week, Jake will get his surgery, and then I'll only have the braces to worry about.

Welcome to tooth month in my home.