On Dentists and Dental Work

Brayden getting his teeth cleaned:
Several years ago, when we lived in the Bay Area, Taylor needed a very small, very simple, and very near-painless dental procedure done. Our family dentist, was explaining to him what needed to be done, and unfortunately, he began by telling him he was going to give him a shot to numb everything up. Once Taylor heard the word "shot", he fell apart, starting freaking out and wouldn't let our dentist do the procedure. I ended up having to go to a pediatric dentist 20 miles away just to have this procedure done (which literally took 30 seconds.) It was a big pain in the rear for me, and I was annoyed with many parties involved over the whole incident, including my child, who had a meltdown in the dentist chair.

When we moved to Phoenix, I asked around for dentist referrals, and got the good recommendation of a pediatric dentist in the next town over. I figured this would be helpful so I wouldn't have to hunt one down just to have any extra dental work done on the kids above and beyond the routine 2 visits a year.

My kids love going to this dentist. They love the two Labrador retrievers that Dr. L brings with him to work each day. They love the playground in the waiting room and the fish tank. I love the "hygiene area". They have three beds all lined up in one big room so I can conceivably have 3 of my 4 kids getting their teeth cleaned all at once! I love Dr. L because even though my older kids don't have perfect teeth, he doesn't pressure us into orthodontics (which this office also provides.) It's a win-win for all.

Two years ago, we got the bad news that Ian had a cavity. And not only one, but two. So, I scheduled the return visit to have them taken care of. Here's the stickler... the insurance doesn't pay for the laughing gas. And they give all kids laughing gas to help them relax and stay calm. So, what should be mostly (80%) covered by insurance is only half covered by insurance. And to add insult to injury, they are so nice about it to the kids. I know they are trying to keep kids from having bad experiences at the dentist at an early age, so they are sweet and nice and all that, but I'm not personally thrilled that they didn't give my child a stern lecture about brushing/flossing and good hygiene practices.

Again, this week - Ian has a cavity. This one is between teeth and so is likely a result of him not flossing. Dr. P said that we could probably have avoided this by having him rinse with mouthwash everyday, which I was buying for a while after the last cavity, but stopped because it's so expensive and with 4 kids using it, it was costing me a fortune. Yeah, but not as much as this dental bill is going to cost me... $117 for one cavity. Ouch! I had threatened Ian after the last one that if he got more cavities, I would take the dental bill out of his allowance. He remembers that, but is that too harsh? I would never make him pay the whole thing, but I'm tempted to bill him for part of it. I don't know of any other way to help him realize the importance of brushing and flossing. I think refusing the laughing gas would be harsh, so I won't do that, even though I'm tempted. What do you think?

Just a little OBSESSED...

Brayden has entered the "obsession" phase of toddlerhood. The one where they are completely obsessed with something for a few weeks (or months) and then out of nowhere, they just change their obsession completely and move on to something new to be obsessed with. Brayden's current obssession is "Leo" from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... it all started with that cute little blue ribbon he wore on his head. Then we finally got that off his head, but he still would point to his forhead and say, "Leo! Leo!" I felt bad that I had "made it disappear", but I felt like I had no other alternatives. Then, Sunday after church, Ian found Brayden's Halloween costume from last year. Brayden had NEVER actually worn it. I bought a cute little fleece Yoda robe that was just adorable, but Brayden would have NOTHING to do with it. On Sunday, Ian told Brayden it was a "ninja turtle" robe and next thing I know Brayden is wearing it around the house and won't take it off! But, since it's fleece, by dinner time he's sweating bullets and we had a fight like you wouldn't believe getting it off his body to put jammies on. So, another obsession item "disappears".... then on Monday, I was washing laundry and his winter jacket had been washed. He saw it and grabbed it and put it on his head, only he wasn't satisfied unless it was zipped up and the hood was on his head. It's a warm jacket and just like the day before ended up having Megan pull it off him when he was so hot he couldn't stand it anymore. As soon as it was "off", it convienently disappeared as well... today we found a pair of boy's sunglasses that are "ninja turtle" themed.... YES! This is an obsession I can handle. He's been wearing these sunglasses all day and keeps pointing to them and saying, "Leo! Leo!" It's so darn cute.... can't wait til he's older and I can tell him about his crazy 2 year old antics and obsessions!

Today I went back to the dentist to have a cavity filled... it's been 2 1/2 hours since I left the dentist and I'm still numb and just starting to tingle/thaw out. This afternoon I get to pack and clean and then finish preparing for our big Relief Society Dinner tonight. Never again will I schedule one of these events the night before a road trip- this is the second time I've done this and I'm really regretting it! Tomorrow we hit the road for "home"... it's always nice to go back to the Bay Area... we love it there!