Lauren's 1st Dental Check Up - 4 years and 2 months

So I'm reluctant to write this because I feel guilty, embarrassed and worried. I am however using my blog as a scrapbook for my kids so I want to be as honest as I can. That way when they are older and dealing with issues like this, they know I've been there and hopefully that will comfort them #1 and #2 I hope they learn from my mistakes. The guilt and embarrassment is for me...the worry is for Lauren.

As a follow up to my post on Tuesday...

First let me say there are several reasons we have not taken the kids into the dentist until this year.

1. 
   
   We didn’t start carrying dental insurance on them until this year (2011).


2. 
   
   At Lauren’s 2 year pediatrician check up, the Dr said we could take her to the dentist anytime now (but we didn't have dental insurance on her that year - 2009) and then we had Colton and well time just slipped away.


3. 
   
   We didn’t get dental insurance on them last year (2010) because we switched to Kraig's insurance and it was outrageous to add the kids and I honestly just hoped they would have my teeth genes and not have issues so we just now got appts for them both for their first check up.

The good news is little Colty will be going when he is 2 and not 4 like Lauren. I just honestly didn’t know you are supposed to floss little kids teeth this young!

So on to the details…
I took Lauren to the Dentist yesterday morning thinking everything would be good except for the 1 tooth. I was wrong. It turns out Lauren has 4 cavities! Yes 4! I feel like the worst mom in the world and cried on and off all morning yesterday (including at the dentist and at work). Lauren has 2 cavities on her lower jaw, right side…back 2 teeth (in between then actually not on top which is why it’s on both teeth…not just 1). The other 2 are on her lower jaw, left side back 2 teeth as well. The very back tooth on her left side (baby molar) is the one I knew was bad because you can see a black spot on the top of the tooth. Well that one is potentially going to have a root canal! The Dentist said he is going to try to just fill it but if it has gone down to the nerve then he will have to do a baby root canal and put a crown on it. The other 3 are not bad but are still there and need filled. So my 4 year old baby girl will go back at the end of September to have the left side fixed (1 filling and 1 root canal (or 2 fillings if she doesn’t have to have the root canal). Then because they can’t numb her lower jaw (both sides) at the same time she will be going back in November to have the 2 teeth on the right side filled in.

The 'bad' tooth

The one thing the Dr told me that makes me feel a little better is that he thinks the one that might need a root canal is actually something that was there from birth or something happened to her right after she was born. Like a shock to her system or something that made that tooth start to decay. He said sometimes that just happens…either the calcium didn’t develop right at birth or something medically happened when she was real little that would have been a shock to her system and would have made that tooth not develop right. The only thing I can think of was when she was born she did have to stay in the hospital an extra day (2 vs. 1) because her white blood count was low and they had to give her meds and run test…so maybe that was it…or maybe it has always just been that way and has gotten worse over time.

I’m not sure…the other obvious factor is Daddy Kraig has not had the best luck with his teeth since he was little either…so it could just be genetics. I better start saving for the orthodontist now! :-)

The other good thing is these are her baby teeth and they will fall out. So hopefully if it’s not just genetics and it can be helped by brushing and flossing on a regular basis…if we develop those healthy habits now when her adult teeth come in (between the time she is 5-12) then we won’t have any issues with her adult teeth. Hopeful thinking!!!!

They said the best case scenario is that every child brush their teeth in the morning and brush & floss their teeth at night. So it looks like we will definitely do better with Colton and hope he has better results!

Lauren will be going back on 9/22 at 8 am for the first set of fillings (or 1 filing and 1 root canal). Then she will be going back on 11/21 at 8 am for the second set of fillings.

So we will have gone to the dentist one time a month from August to November.
August = Lauren check up
September = Lauren’s fix
October = Colton’s check up
November = Lauren’s fix

I feel guilty because if I had brushed her teeth 2 times a day everyday and not let her go to bed with a sippy cup of milk until she was 3 and we still had these issues then I would know 100% it's genetics. However I didn't do that. We only brushed her teeth every once in a while (never flossed) and she went to bed with a cup of milk every night for 3 years...so I feel that 'what if' I could have prevented it feeling. That's why I was crying yesterday...not for the fear that Lauren will not be ok (because she will...the dental office we are going to does this all the time...or so they say)...but for the guilt I feel for not trying hard enough and partly failing my daughter in the tooth department. I feel like I didn't do my part to protect her. I slacked in the dental department because I have never had issues with my teeth and it was never a priority of mine since I never had issues. We all have things that we care about more than others because it's important to us for one reason or another...but like I said I never had issues so I just hoped my kids wouldn't either.

Lesson learned...take the extra steps needed just in case it's not genetics so you don't feel guilty and brush my kids teeth 2 times and floss once each day!

I know there will be other issues in the future that we have to deal with...so this is just the first stepping stone God is giving me...but man it's a hard one. I don't like feeling like I could have done better...especially with my kids! I just love them so much that I hope I never have to see them hurt (which I know is not reality but I can wish)!

Lauren I apologize for not doing my part to prevent this...but hopefully we can end the cycle now and we never have this issue once your adult teeth come in! We love you wiggies!

Thanks for reading my babbling...I feel better now.