Dentist Visits

Xander, Grace, and Greta had an appointment with the dentist today. This was Grace and Greta's first time. I had expected Grace to be the uncooperative one but they said she did very well and she was all happy and smiling to show me her teeth when she came out. They came out to talk to me in the middle of Greta's session to tell me that she was being moved to the "quiet room." I wasn't sure what it was but Jon told me later it was the sound proof room! They were telling me that she was doing really well but was getting a little upset when they wanted her to open her mouth wider to get to the back teeth. She does have a problem opening her mouh wide and I'm surprised she didn't puke on them. I didn't get the impression that she was that bad but she told me they hurt her teeth (they had to do scaling) and she "wanted my mama!" Awww...poor Greta. She seemed ok overall but I'm not sure if she'll be better or worse next time. We talked about it tonight and she volunteered that she liked the waterfall (outside the building) and the turtles (in the tank inside the waiting room) so it couldn't have been that bad!

Both girls have no cavities or problems. They are getting an overbite so we are going to watch that. Xander had one cavity in a tooth that had been borderline for a while. He has a hard time because all of his teeth are so closely spaced with no gaps between them making it easier for cavities to form. The girls are lucky because they have space around all of their teeth. The dentist said we may see a lot of problems with Xander when he gets his adult teeth because of how little room there is in his mouth already.

They also did x-rays of all the kids and their tooth growth is very delayed. She said Xander's 6yr molars are nowhere close to coming in and they usually see them coming in at 5 (don't know why they call them 6yr molars!). He probably won't get his 12 yr molars until close to 15, and he has no signs of loose teeth and probably won't lose any for a long time because of how high his permanent teeth are. Grace and Greta's permanent teeth also appear to be growing in much slower than typical. This isn't a problem at all, just something to be aware of and that tends to run in families. I think I was the last kid I knew in school to lose a tooth and I was one of the oldest in my class, so maybe they take after me! She said kids who get their teeth late tend to lose them late but I have no idea when they got teeth. She did say average was 6 months and I know they didn't have teeth then but I'm not sure how much after 6 months they were. I'll have to pay attention to when Marie gets hers now! She's been drooling and biting and chewing everything she can so maybe her teeth will come in closer to 6months.