pachooey chomp.

About a week and a half ago I took James and Natalie in for their dental checkups! It went something like this:
James was perfectly well behaved (gotta love him) and went first to get his x-rays. He sat in the big chair with no worries at all and was so calm with his 6 or 7 pictures. He chomped on the little plastic things that they put in your mouth and did not complain once. He was a bit skittish in the exam chair (who isn't?) and after hearing the dentist and I say a few times that nothing would hurt and that everything is okay, he calmed down and laid back into the green chair with his shades (to block the bright exam light) and let them go to town.
I am very very please to report that James has zero cavities and some beautiful looking adult teeth still waiting underneath. Not sure if I mentioned this on here before and from his last July visit, but he has no signs of crooked teeth on his middle bottom area. Right now, his two bottom middle baby teeth are crooked due to the awesomeness of the binky. Oh the binky.

I am so SO proud of my big guy. I am still gushing with pride from watching him interact with the adults, listen to them while they asked him questions, and see him go on with his bad 4 year old self.

Next, it was Natalie's turn.
Oh boy.

I let her watch how well James did and even though she was really nervous this time around, I knew that if she watched how calm and cool James was she'd follow suit. She usually does.
Well not this time.
And in her defense, she only had a 20 minute nap on this day so she was really not up to it or anything else.
So, the hygienist and I thought we'd let her simmer down and try taking her x-rays after James' turn.
And that didn't happen either. Oh the screaming..THE SCREAMING.

So, I have to take Natalie back next month to get a full checkup. And you know, honestly, it didn't work out so bad because they weren't allowed to give her a cleaning this time around..they need approval (a signed document) from her cardiologist beforehand. I can't believe I didn't even think about that. I felt kind of stupid. But, with her scheduled tooth cleaning and Jan. 12th open heart surgery being so close together, they didn't want to chance it. And I really appreciate that. Some parents would probably huff and puff about it..complaining about the inconvenience..but crap, you have to appreciate them following a solid protocol. I'm learning more as we go along with our adorable CHDer. ;)

So..teeth... TEETH.

Every time I have to take the kids to the dentist I do get nervous. Not full on anxiety attack, but a bit nervous because I still don't know if they caught my bad teeth gene.
Rick has great teeth and as far as I know, his family has a normal amount of tooth problems..their fair share, but nothing compared to my side of the family.
Oy vey. These poor kids.. I will pray for them.
Both sides of my family are full of rotten teeth. For many reasons but the biggest reason seems to be genetic. In our family, you are lucky to either be in your 30s and have beautiful, white, non-rotten teeth..or be hit with the bad genes..where no matter what precautions you take and how good you think you're doing, a cavity will erupt regardless. I am on that side of the gene pool.
Most people don't know this, but to date, I have 8 or 9? fillings, have had so many root canals that I lost count, 3 pulled teeth, and 1 wisdom tooth that never formed. In the front, I have white, pretty straight teeth. But if I smile wide you can see where there's a dark gap on my left side. It's pretty embarrassing and overall sad.
The last 2 teeth that I had pulled 3 years ago were so bad (1 was a root canal that I couldn't afford to have finished.. a perfect example of how even having dental insurance means squat). I ended up having a "dry socket" in that one.. and oh my god.. I never knew pain until that. It became infected and was put on antibiotics that were so strong that I couldn't keep food down for days.
Well alright then...
I just have this fear that the kids..especially Natalie with her heart condition..will grow up and have my teeth.
Because now I'm paying for it. It's hard to tell, but I am.
The power of showing the kids how to floss (with James coming up to me now and ASKING me to floss his teeth), how to brush properly and understand how much sugar is too much sugar will hopefully prove to be long-lasting GOOD habits for them.