We are becoming initiated into the world of orthodontia. It took three children to get there, but here we are. I'm kind of overwhelmed.
People, a pretty smile costs money. A whole heck of a lot of money. Ouch. But I'm sure you already knew this.
We are not people who think that our children need to have perfectly straight teeth. A slightly turned tooth builds character. A tiny overlap isn't a big deal. But our boy, Luke, has some serious spacing issues. He has two teeth coming in on the roof of his mouth that will be behind his bottom teeth even when they move into position. Those will be the only ones behind his bottom teeth. Weird. He has a bottom tooth coming in nowhere near the too-small space it's supposed to be in. Once his permanent teeth are all in, he should more or less resemble this:
People, a pretty smile costs money. A whole heck of a lot of money. Ouch. But I'm sure you already knew this.
We are not people who think that our children need to have perfectly straight teeth. A slightly turned tooth builds character. A tiny overlap isn't a big deal. But our boy, Luke, has some serious spacing issues. He has two teeth coming in on the roof of his mouth that will be behind his bottom teeth even when they move into position. Those will be the only ones behind his bottom teeth. Weird. He has a bottom tooth coming in nowhere near the too-small space it's supposed to be in. Once his permanent teeth are all in, he should more or less resemble this:
We may not believe in a perfect smile for everyone, but we can't hinder a child's chances of getting married someday. Call us selfish, but we do want grandchildren.
Strangely, Luke couldn't be more thrilled. Well, okay, he could be. But he's not disappointed in the least. He's already planning what colors he's going to get for each season, and how small he'll cut his food, and making a chart for how many times a day he'll have to brush. He's eating candy like it's growing on trees because his candy consumption will be limited once he has metal in his mouth.
Maybe that's the whole reason that he's not entirely disappointed with the upcoming dental adventure. Candy in the here and now works wonders.
12 comments:
Maybelline was excited about getting braces too. Till she had them. Poor thing. Children are so delusional. And parents stay broke.
I remember getting my braces. I was excited, too. Not only could I get gross colors on my teeth, but more importantly I had heinous teeth before braces. I knew it had to happen. In fact, no one ever had to tell me to wear my retainer once I had them removed because I didn't want my teeth to regain their Cro Magnon look. Yes, my teeth were that bad.
That picture was spooky! I had braces and I remember mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs were my friends when I got them tightened. My youngest will need braces....until then, we'll enjoy our income!;-)
That picture reminds me a bit of the old Snaggletooth cartoon! Good for him for being excited - hopefully it lasts for at least a little while!
So far, we have been lucky. It is incredibly expensive. And my oldest, the one with the perfect bite, needs 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed. I'm going to tell my kids to be oral surgeons. That's where the money is. That, and orthodontists, of course...
Oh I'm sorry. Your poor wallet. I've been having the conversation with the wee ones about braces for awhile now... and how they need to keep things out of their mouths (like BLANKETS AT NIGHT) if they want to avoid the pain and torture. It's not working so far.
Poor Luke!
I hope his stint in them isn't too long.
5 years each with double headgears and some extractions where what both Hubby and I had, and I can already tell that Sasha is going to need them (he's already got some jaw disproportion and even his baby teeth are coming in in strange places).
Good news is, it's one of those fixes that really does work.
Ugh! We've done one set of teeth and have for sure another, maybe 4 more to go. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Neither one of us had braces, where did this come from? As you die a thousand deaths paying this, just count your blessings you're not having to come up with money in the 6 digit category for craniofacial surgery. OUCH!
I took a book to Gigio's track meet and didn't socialize till after the event either. I brought a camera with dead batteries so I didn't win any awards either.
if you ever give up dog breeding, you could have a future in Photoshopping ;-)
Ouch on the finances... does insurance cover a lot of this?
It's so funny... Bug, who with all of his cleft issues will absolutely put some lucky orthodontist's child (or two) through college, is totally looking forward to braces. I don't get it.
We just entered the world in March. Neither Hubby or I had braces, so this is all new to us, too. MA did the same thing, choosing colors, etc. She actually didn't get them till the second visit. She was also in quite a bit of pain. She thought the tylenol worked better than advil. Make sure you have plenty on hand! Also, if he says the wire is poking, don't let him live with it for 2 weeks. I kept thinking it would get better. Apparently as the teeth come down the wire gets longer. I think the tech kind of lectured me in a kind way that I should have brought her in sooner. In my defense, I had a few things going on in my life at the time. Still I feel bad about it.
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