I Don't Love My Kids' Dentist So Much

All right it's not his fault that it's been entirely too long since we had a good trip to the dentist. In fact, we don't even see the same dentist every time. We get whoever happens to be at the office the day we schedule our appointment.

Did I mention that every one of the 4 male dentists is incredibly attractive? That 3 of them are nearly perfect height? That every one of them has an uncanny ability to make you feel like you are the absolute most important person in the world? That you have to be a member of the pretty people club in order to be one of the assistants? No? Well - there it is.

Today was not one of our better trips. I have a strong ambivalence toward the dentist's office so I'm sure I let that rub off on my children.

Anyway - Carson went first. He has done a much better job brushing and flossing. THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!! But he has 6 cavities! AND Carson has no more baby teeth, so these all require fillings.

Next was Griff. This little guy really does try to brush and floss. He loves going to the dentist to get a new toothbrush and a toy from the treasure chest. He does NOT like the sedation crap they've had to force him to drink on trips past, and he reminded everyone that would listen today. This kid had his share of cavities (one of which is a repeat offender - we've filled the same tooth 3 times folks. This one now gets a lovely crown) AND we found out that he has something called hypoplastic molars.

I have been a bit concerned lately with the color of his 6-yr-old molars, which are all in the process of pushing their way through his gums. These four teeth are a lot darker than his others, and they are not standard tooth shape. Some of them seem to have extra cusps or have cusps that don't appear to be connected.





Apparently hypoplasticity occurs as a result of high fever, infection, antiobiotics, or flouride dosing. When the evil moons of Endor align during pregnancy or early part of life and one of these events occurs, hypoplasticity can happen.

So - what do they do? Well in a patient as young as Griff, apparently they fuse a glass isonomer to the tooth's surface. This is supposed to hold things together until he has permanent molars that will help hold a crown in place. Hypoplasticity apparently does not have an impact on permanent teeth.

Oh yeah - the dentist happened to mention that G is probably in pain when he eats. Every. Single. Time.

Evan got on the chaise last. He had one cavity, and it's in a tooth that should be falling out soon. So, we're just going to extract that one. Don't go thinking he let me off easy after his younger brother...

One of Ev's molars had a large filling, and the tooth somehow broke underneath the filling. While it's been broken, it's wedged itself up against another tooth. Guess what... That one broke too. You'd think I would have noticed something while flossing or that Ev would have been experiencing some sort of pain.... Nada. Both teeth need crowns.

So, here's my dilemma: things have been tight in the financial dept around here. I do have decent dental insurance, but I still have to pay 20% for most fillings. I have to pay 50% for the crowns. There is no way that I can just get all 3 boys immediately back to the office for their required treatment plans. But how do I decide which one of them goes now and which have to wait a few months?

Griff's in pain, so he's the one I chose to tackle first. Problem with that is his is the most expensive, and the dentist won't let me take the others in until I've paid all that I owe...

Guess now isn't the best time to mention that I also need to get Evan in for an eye appointment (he failed his school vision screening back in October) and I still need to take him to an ortho to have his knees evaluated.

How bout them apples?

I think I'd better head off to FaceBook for some Mafia Wars. Do you think taking out a rival family will help my frustration?

Changing My Template - AGAIN

I loved that Notepad Chaos template, but the photobucket sponsor reached it's maximum bandwidth, and I didn't want to mess with trying to contact the template designer.

So - it's spring - and now we get a new template. Change is good. Right?

A Gorilla, the Easter Bunny, and a Great Example

The Easter Bunny didn't show up at our place until yesterday afternoon. The door bell rang, and when the boys opened the door there were all these baskets on the front step. Pretty freaking ingenious.

Griff woke up yesterday morning and ran downstairs without even coming into my bedroom for his usual morning snuggle. I just laid there with a ball of dread in the pit of my stomach. Guess what I'd forgotten to do the night before...

Jon went to the top of the stairs to see what was going on and said, "Guess the Easter Bunny forgot to stop here." Griff was so resolute. He just stood in our entry way, shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Nope. He just knew I've been being bad."

Griff's been pushing some limits lately - tracing his hands on the wall of his closet, writing his name on the bathroom mirror with a particularly disgusting bodily waste product, and not listening. We've been very frustrated and have spent the past few evenings trying to decide how to deal with this 5 year old that we love so dearly.

But to unintentionally crush him on one of the magical mornings of childhood? How could I?!

Today he and I enjoyed a beautiful spring morning playing Sonic on Xbox 360, drawing carrots, swimming his turtle toy in the bathtub, eating carmel eggs, and laughing. I had a conference call for work at 11:00.

He was very quiet while he was downstairs. When the call ended I asked him what he was doing. He said, "Just a minute, Mom!" I looked down the stairs and found him on his knees with his arms folded on the couch. I waited until he was done and smiled at him as he finished. I raised my eyebrows to question what was up, and he said,

I was just praying that the Easter Bunny would make it home safely and that Heavenly Father would help me be better. I think I'm gonna need some help with that.

Nuckles Milano

Our good friend, Nuckles Milano (you know who you are), deploys tomorrow. Just wanted to take a minute to thank him for doing this. We are humbled by the sacrifice you offer so that we can continue to enjoy our way of life. We are already looking forward to your safe return.

We'll help keep things under control here at home.

Really Dave, we love you!

Trying for a Fabulous Friday

I'm not feeling so fabulous today. I've got a case of vertigo that roars upon me every time I turn my head. The weather is drizzly and overcast. Actually I think it's snowing.

This morning I tried reading while laying on the couch with Griff watching Super Why - didn't work so well. The words swirled every time I turned the page.

Took a nap - worked but only while I was sleeping. I also had a dream that if you looked into the drizzle you could make out something that looked frighteningly like the space shuttle. There's a Frito Lay plant a few miles north west of my house, and in my dream they were the complany who had launched this ship. I awoke hollering for Griff to come and see - he kept looking out the window and I was getting upset with him because I needed him to look at the window that was apparently installed in the couch while I was asleep. He was all sorts of confused.

Did a phone call and a couple of emails for work - fine if I looked directly at my computer screen or closed my eyes.

Found a review for a blow dryer that I think I must obtain on my next retail therapy trip. Of course the video with the whirling hair strands did nothing for me.

Made Griff some mac & cheese for lunch. Wow - who knew boiling water and tumbling macaroni could make a woman so nauseous!

Entered the codes from misc Coca-Cola products at mycokerewards.com. I'm only a few lids away from a magazine subscription. I was entering codes to get free 20 oz bottles of my favorite daily elixir, but it took almost 3 weeks to get my first voucher. Like I'm gonna wait that long people! I decided that I'll go for the mag subscription so that I can drink away while I'm perusing pages once a month... My boys have really been helping me out. Everytime they find a coded lid they bring it home - it's better than seeing a penny and picking it up! I'm trying to decide if I want to get

• Cosmo (because couldn't we all use some of those incredible monthly nookie tips?)
• Redbook
• Country Living
• Popular Mechanics
• House Beautiful
• Cookie
• Glamour
• W
• O

Honestly? I've tried the positive attitude thing, but the nausea is getting worse, and I'm starting to get chills. I think I need to head to my nice, cozy bed and hunker down for the afternoon.

Maybe not so fab after all...