The Short Straw

I get a bit nervous about the idea of taking the kids to the dentist. It feels like I'm about to take a huge exam that I may or may not have prepared enough for. But you don't know until you see the exam or maybe even until you get the results. I do not test well. My stomach churns at the idea.

It seems that Ellie drew the short straw when it came to good teeth genetics. This shouldn't surprise me! She also drew the short straw regarding her finger nails. Carie curses her own finger nails on a daily basis. These two, I swear they are made from the same mold!

At their recent semi-annual dentist appointment it was discovered that she had a couple small cavities that needed to be taken care of.

Now, she's had a couple in the past as well. They were itty bitty cavities that required a small amount of cleaning and a sealant to protect them from future harm. No numbing needed! No big deal the dentist proclaims!

This time she was praised for her teeth brushing efforts. The dentist made it a point to tell her just how great she had been brushing her teeth. Unfortunately we need to step up the flossing efforts as the cavities were between her molars. Certainly the rinse we use should be helping that as well. Maybe not? So technically, one cavity affected two teeth... on both lower sides of her mouth. So all in all, she technically had four cavities this go around. Ouch!

It took two quick (20 minute) visits back to the dentist to get things all fixed up with this morning being the last of the dentist we should need to see for a while! I took her on Tuesday and was shocked at how short the visit was. I was even more shocked at how smooth it all went! Carie took her in this morning and had a good idea how it would go based on Tuesday. When they called her back he said that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that she was all fixed up. The bad news was that she was so cute that they wanted to keep her there. Ugh! Don't do that to us! LOL

The way cool thing about all of this is that Ellie was a champ. She was more than a champ! Both Carie and I dreaded these visits as we knew that he would need to numb her. I would have never dreamed that either of the visits would have gone as great as they did. There is no way that she even knows that she got a shot. It just isn't possible. And I’m not sure that we will even tell her!

Summertime Summertime Sum Sum Summertime

A traditional summertime favorite in our house is fresh home grown (by local farmers) corn on the cob.

We picked up some after Church Sunday afternoon with the intent on eating it that night for dinner. Well, in that short time plans had changed and we finally got around to eating it last night. Mmmm... delicious.

Except this doesn't seem to be the optimal summer for corn on the cob.

We now have 3 loose teeth in the house with fantasies of more loose teeth in the mix. Thankfully Ellie is now sporting a loose tooth, for real. Spencer is certain he has a loose tooth as well. He is absolutely certain about that fact. I wonder how disappointed he will be when Abby & Ellie's actually do fall out and his doesn't?

So it seems that corn on the cob isn't going so well, but corn off the cob seems just as enjoyable to these little ones with real and pretend loose teeth.

I'm surprised that Abby's tooth is still hanging in there. Their Dentist thought it would be out before their regular appointment... which is just next week!

Hmm... maybe she is doing all she can to keep it in until the 2nd day of 1st grade!?!?

All Good

Upon the dentist’s request, Abby had her appointment this morning.

Turns out, it is all good. According to the dentist, she just hurried Mother Nature along. Everything is healthy and nothing is damaged. Her permanent tooth is behind it and ready to come in.

He predicts that the tooth will fall out before her regular check up next month. I hope Abby is okay with it not falling on the 2nd day of 1st grade!

Ellie continues to lobby for a loose tooth.

First Loose Tooth

We have our first loose tooth in the house.

Ellie has been lobbying for a few weeks now that she has a loose tooth. Every time we check the tooth of the day, it isn't at all loose.

Abby has the first loose tooth and unfortunately it didn't come about naturally. Somehow her mouth met the counter and knocked it loose this afternoon... just as I was out buying corn on the cob for dinner. It is clear that it is coming out soon. How, I don't know. Abby thinks it would be cool to lose it on the 2nd day of 1st grade. It would be a miracle if it didn't come out before then.

Her Dentist would like to see her so we'll soon get his opinion on how things look. Ultimately I don't think it is a big deal and I kind of hope that he pulls it... it is that loose. It is clear that she is not interested in having us pull it! She just turned 6 and ultimately I'd presume that if it were going to fall out on its own, it would do so in the relatively near future.

What I really hope is that this isn't the baby tooth that doesn't have a permanent tooth behind it! This really is my biggest worry. Carie and I are pretty sure it isn't, but neither of us can remember for certain. I'm not ready to deal with that, but when does parenting give us things that we are ready to deal with?