Smiles Worth Thousands

Wow...where to start on the kids teeth?

Tristan. That's where. Now I have a confession...I do not win the mother of the year in this department. Why? Reason 1. I let my boys go to bed with sippy cups of milk after they were weaned (age 1) pretty much until potty training around 2 1/2. Never again, for any length of time, for any child. Reason 2. I don't floss my kids teeth. Didn't know you were supposed to until just recently. They are six, five and two. Reason 3. I am not so great at my own teeth brushing routine, and am just as bad at theirs. Sidenote: Tristan has always been my child who had issues with his mouth. Wouldn't be spoon feed without a fight, wouldn't let anyone look in his mouth without a fight, and wouldn't tolerate his teeth brushed without a fight. He would do any one of those things on his own (or in this case, would say he would), but whether that was true or not. Who knew? A mom who checked that's who. Not me. And, Reason 4. My kids had yet to go to the dentist. Again, six, five and two. Mother of the year, I think not.

So...when Tristan started complaining of tooth pain, a thorough look into his mouth showed problems visible to my untrained eye. That's when I knew we were in trouble. We took him into three different dentists before we were able to get x-rays AND a treatment plan that they could do. Which, with the extensive amount of work that needed to be done and his age meant a pediatric dentist. Estimated cost $1600, not including anesthesia. He had 13 problems in his mouth and in order to address them all, it was in his best benefit to be put under. So we did it. He had one tooth removed, a spacer put in, two mini root canals, three crowns, and five cavities. It was horrible to see him go under (just one little shot, but seeing your baby loose consciousness is not something I recommend if you can avoid it)- I cried for sure, but in the end we were all happy to have the whole thing over with. When I say his smile is worth thousands, he thinks I am talking about his new "silver teeth" but that is only the beginning.

And then there was Gavin. No physical evidence of problems in his mouth, but other than the mouth issue, he was pretty much the same as Tristan in regards to tooth care. Turns out he did have problems- six to be exact. Just fillings, but still. We decided to seal his six year old molars at the same time, so it was going to take two procedures to get him done. No anesthesia needed. He was such a trooper...didn't cry or protest, even on the second visit. He even went to school numb with no issues. His braveness surprises me sometimes. No pictures or silver teeth to account for his experience, but I am sure he can tell you all about it if you so desire.

Finally, Emma baby. Deciding to not follow the pattern we had been on, I took Emma in at the same time as the boys. No issues...hooray! I don't know that I am all that surprised...she won't touch any form of drink other than water. Can I preprogram that in this next baby?

So we are now cleaned and fixed up (excepting Andrew...I had a few unattended cavities I have been putting off that we got out of the way as well, but he is still on the docket) and we can easily say that our smiles are worth thousands! Here is to mother of the year next year.

Things I learned:
1. One cavity creates bacteria that can create another cavity. Two creates twice as much bacteria and thus, more cavities...and faster. No wonder Tristan had so many.
2. Some kids are prone to more bacteria in their mouths. Tristan is one such. He had antibiotics to bring it back to normal, but normal for him is higher than others.
3. If you get a cavity in between two teeth (called flossing cavities), it is the same as two cavities. Fillings wise, and cost wise.

*FYI We ended up going to Kids Dental Barn in Eagle Mountain and LOVED them. We will continue going there for sure. Thanks for the recommendation Morgan.