Dental Drama

I took the kiddos to the dentist yesterday, for the first time is a year, thank you very much. That's the problem with going to the Best Pediatric Dentist Around -- if you miss an appointment, you can't reschedule for at least 6 months, and when they recommend you bring them in every 6 months, well, you can do the math.

I was a little apprehensive about how Ryan's check-up would go. She was not blessed with the healthiest of teeth as a baby, and we have not been doing a very good job of making her floss every day (or any day, for that matter), so I feared the worst. Not that we didn't start off trying to do good with the flossing, but after the newness of it wore off, and after Jax flushed the majority of Ryan's flossy-stick-things down the toilet, the procedure just kinda went down the toilet as well.

And the result? No less than 5 cavities, I'm afraid, one of which has so badly decayed her tooth that she's going to have to get a silver cap for it. So one cap and four fillings all before the age of six. For a mommy who's first cavity ever came about only a few years ago, this was a crushing blow.

While the Guilt Fairy sat singing in my ear, I accepted fault with assurance from the doc that her teeth didn't start out on an even keel with other kids' teeth, and vowed to do better from now on. Especially after finding out that not only will they have to sedate her in order to perform the procedure, but that since the Best Ped Dentist Around is out of our network, the whole thing is going to cost us over $500.

But before I lament too much, I am reminded of this story I heard on the news the other day, and quickly shut my mouth, pray for that little girl's family, and Thank God that at least our troubles are manageable.

Plus, it helps that Ryan thinks the cap is the first step to braces, leaving her all excited and giddy that she, just lilke mommy, will now have pretty teeth jewelry to flash around. Next thing you know, we'll put putting a nice gold grill on layaway for Jax.