Million Dollar Smile

Our oldest had his first visit with the orthodontist!

We took this child to the dentist when he was probably 1.5 years old for his first check up. He got a good report overall. However, the dentist mentioned an ominous warning..."I can already tell you he will be in braces one day." Ahhh, music to my ears...NOT. :)

Over the years, we have watched his teeth grow in. In. Not out. He has only lost four teeth total. We kept mentioning to the dentist we were concerned; he wasn't losing teeth like most kids his age. The dentist was never overly concerned...probably because he reads x-rays MUCH better than I do. On the last visit, our dentist said, "It is time; he needs to see the orthodontist very soon." He even offered to make an appointment FOR us, which told me it really was time. No more putting it off.

Today was the day. We ended up cancelling the appointment with the orthodontist he made the appointment with. I am sure that orthodontist is fine. I just never felt a "peace" about it. One Sunday I mentioned at church our search for just the right person (a big plus- accepting our dental insurance). Immediately the folks in our Bible Fellowship (which will always be Sunday School to me) told us that we needed to see Dr. G. Not only does he go to our church, but he apparently he is just a neat guy.

The appointment was at 3:15 which is when I can officially leave school. So Mark picked Child 1 up (and also delivered Child 4 to my mom's), and then went on to the appointment. At 3:15, I hightailed it out with the girls, dropped them off at my mom's, then went on to the appointment. The office is not a quick drive, which is a negative. On the way there, I was beginning to wonder what we had done.

Thankfully I got to the appointment before the ortho had even made his way in. The assistant who had taken a lot of pictures of Child 1's mouth shared some information with me. I knew some of it but had forgotten most of it (I will get to that in a second). Child 1, who had been a tad bit nervous about the appointment (I am pretty sure he envisioned having braces strapped on his teeth on the first visit, ending his popcorn eating days), was completely relaxed and in pre-teen heaven. He had a DS in hand and was playing some kind of video game.

A short bit later, the ortho appeared. He goes to our church; Mark knows him, but I only have seen him from afar. He immediately put me at ease. The best words I heard was "There is no reason to do anything right now. We need to wait until all of the permanent teeth are in first." Big sigh of relief. I have heard stories of kids getting braces young then having to have them again a few years later.

The funniest words we heard were "Wow, I am really puzzled. I have not ever seen x-rays like this." Our son is missing four teeth (permanent). The ortho said that it is not very uncommon to be missing two on top. It is a bit more rare to be missing the two on the bottom. Apparently it is VERY uncommon to be missing both. :) We have always said our son was unique. Now we have proof! (Sadly, the four teeth he is NOT missing are his wisdom teeth.)

By the way, the missing teeth explains why Child 1 hasn't lost more teeth. There is nothing to push the baby teeth out of the way. (Ironically, one of his other teeth IS loose, the permanent tooth is already pushing it out of the way.)

Overall, the appointment was good. We don't have to go back for six months. There is definitely work to be done, but the ortho said as much as he wants to get in and fix things RIGHT now, the best thing to do is wait until all of the teeth have moved into place and then go from there. So we have some time left before we start shelling out for the million dollar mouth. At least with this child. I have a feeling the 8 year old is next in line for a visit!

Oh, and while the drive is not really convenient which a few months ago I would have said was one of my top requirements, I am glad we have made the choice we made. We are all very comfortable with Dr. G and feel like he has our son's best interests at heart. The staff was very friendly. The assistant even printed off a copy of our son's "smile pics" and his x-rays per Child 1's request. All that makes for a happy kid and two happy parents.

Now, I am off to bed.

More later,

Reba