Dental industry

So continuing on with the dental trend, about 10 days ago, Madolyn had braces put on.  This is all very new to us because Jay and I somehow survived childhood without them.  We do not have perfect teeth, but they were good enough to not need them desperately and it's never been something we have chosen to pursue for ourselves.  Poor Madolyn has two teeth growing up high in her gums.  I asked if they would ever come down on their own and the answer was no.  Her bottom teeth are pretty crooked in the front also.  The combination of the two situations made us feel pretty confident this was the right thing to do.  (Although I am convinced that they will tell any live, breathing human being with teeth in their mouth they need braces.)

It's a huge commitment, not only monetarily speaking but we have to trust that our sweet daughter will take care of her teeth now that she has the hardware on and once it comes off...otherwise, it will have been a total waste of money and effort.  I see that Faith Hill is now sporting braces to correct her teeth shifting which makes me think Mad's straight teeth may not last even if she does everything right...but she will be an adult and she can pay for the second set.  If Faith can afford it, well...

Poor planning on my part, I probably should've waited for Madolyn's mouth renovation until after volleyball was over; although, I think we're at the point in her life where there may not be 'downtime' so now is as good as time as any.  She had a pretty uncomfortable 48 hours but seems fine now.  We will go back in six weeks to start the cranking and rubber bands.  The dentist tells me we'll see a big difference in as little as a couple months with those 'high' teeth.  Let's hope!

Just a couple days after Mad got the braces, Lane started complaining of a toothache.  Let me back up a bit.  We had missed his regularly scheduled cleaning in December because we got down there and he was pukey.  I can't blame him for not wanting someone cleaning his teeth and I could not blame the hygienist for not wanting to stick her hands in his icky mouth.  I rescheduled the appointment for President's Day and we will be going in just a couple days.

I remember now that Lane mentioned a piece of his tooth had broken off a week or ten days ago and I commented that it was a good thing we had a cleaning coming up.  He has his father's brittle teeth and they chip-chip-chip away pretty easily.  So when he said he had a toothache, it wasn't hard for me to believe.  I gave him some ibuprofen and didn't think another thing about it until...

We were at a volleyball tournament on last Saturday and he says to me, "mom, my face is on fire."  I look over at him and sure enough, he is beet red.  Strange.  Moments ago, he was fine.  No fever.  No stomach ache, but a red, red face.  So...he goes home.  Thinking it might be an allergic reaction, he takes some Benedryl.  I get home and hear him throwing a humongous fit.  I go talk to him and he tells me his tooth hurts.  At this point, I get the flashlight out and take a look.  Uh-huh, yes, I see what you're saying, buddy.  He takes some Tylenol and is fine in a half hour...but his cheek is growing.

By Monday morning, he looks as if he's holding a tennis or baseball in his cheek.  He is miserable.  We keep him home from school and we get an antibiotic for him.  This is not our first ride on this merry-go-round.  About a year or so ago, this same thing happened with a deteriorating tooth on the other side.  I took him to the dentist and they tried to pull it as it was still infected and inflamed.  You talk about a fit of rage, Lane had one.  I tell you driving home from the dentist that day, I had never, ever seen my sweet boy have such a violent tantrum.  It was scary.  If I were a crier, I would've been sobbing (instead I was laughing, which I know is the wrong signal to the child who is coming unglued) because it was frightening watching him kick and scream and carry on. 

I promised him the other day that we would not let anyone touch that tooth until the infection is cleared up.  Hopefully, when we go for the cleaning on Monday, they will take care of it.  He has inherited his parents teeth and now I have to sit and watch him suffer through it.  Poor boy.

So I have decided that the Wilhoit family purpose is to keep the dental industry alive and flourishing.  I also decided that it could be worse, so we'll take it.  Anyone out there interested in dental school?