Clean Chompers

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I had a small hole in one of my teeth.  I called the dentist to get it looked at and had to wait almost a week before I could get in.  It was a cavity, of course, and it turned out that I had another rather large cavity next to it.

Here would be a good time to say that I hate my teeth.  I always have cavities, despite twice daily brushing and the occasional flossing.  I try to take good care of my teeth, but my teeth just don't care.  It's rather annoying.  And getting cavities filled is not a favorite pastime of mine.

So, the dentist filled the original tooth, and put a temporary filling in the other one.  She said that we would just monitor whether it gave me pain over the next couple of weeks to determine whether to put in a permanent filling or do a root canal.  Before this point, I didn't have any pain associated with that tooth.  After the drilling and temporary filling, there is some pain at times.  More annoyance!

Once I finished with the fillings, I made appointments for Drew, Annelise, and I to get cleanings.  Today was that day.  It was exciting because today was Annelise's first trip to the dentist.  I spent a lot of time talking it up and making it sound very exciting so that she wouldn't be scared.  She was absolutely stoked to go.

I went back for my cleaning first and took her back with me so that she could watch.  She sat right next to me and watched very closely.  Once I got done, I took her over for her turn and Drew went for his.

I asked her beforehand if she wanted to sit on my lap or by herself and she pushed me away and said she wanted to sit by herself.  She climbed up in the chair and sat so patiently.  The hygienist's name was Ann and she did such a fantastic job of speaking so calmly and explaining everything to Annelise.  She showed her all of the tools and what they did before she used them on her mouth.  Annelise just sat and watched and did as she was told.  I was amazed at how well she handled it all.  She chose birthday cake for her flavor for toothpaste and seemed to like it.

I did learn a few things during her cleaning.  Her back molars have very deep ridges, which I sort of knew because they are a bitch to brush clean.  Ann also said that the space between her teeth is a very good thing.  That means less junk can get stuck between them and cause decay.  She also told me that for every month past the 6 month average that babies get teeth, can equate to about 3-6 months when comes time for the teeth to fall out.  Annelise was 9 months old before she got her first tooth, so she might be closer to 7 before she loses her first tooth.  This is a good thing because that means there is less time for decay to set into those adult teeth.  That also means that she has a greater chance of being old enough to be a better brusher to help ward off decay.  Interesting!

Once Annelise's cleaning was done, she got a goody bag filled with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and a timer.  She loved getting her own little bag.

After the cleaning, we went upstairs to get checked out by the dentist.  I have another two cavities to get filled.  (@$&^#^&^$^%&$#@!!!!)  Annelise got a good report.  We need to watch those back molars carefully because it will be easy to get cavities given how deep they are.  She will probably be a good candidate for sealants, but we'll reevaluate in 6 months.  Dentist also said that she needs to ditch the paci.  She only has it while she sleeps, and I knew that it was getting time for it to go anyways.  I'm not going to rush it right now.  She is still VERY attached to it, and I'm doing this parenting thing solo for the majority of the time.  We'll get rid of it, it just might be a couple months.