Dentist Visit

Well, I know it was long overdue, but all three of the kids had their first dentist appointments this week. It was quite an experience...the office was very cute and kid-friendly and the pediatric dentist was wonderful, as well as all of the staff...everyone was very energetic, patient, and thorough. And the kids did awesome, especially considering we were there for two hours! Each of the kids had a turn getting their teeth cleaned and examined and Jadan and Cooper even cooperated for some x-rays. They all got little fanny-packs (those still exist??) and toothbrushes, flossers, and a toy. So, now that I've "candy-coated" it (hehe)...ready for the fun part?!! HA! Our little Sweet-Tooth (you guessed it...Cooper!) has 4 cavities!! But wait, it gets better. Three of the cavities are very small and in the back, but the fourth is actually on his front right lateral (right next to the big tooth). The x-ray revealed that the cavity was almost to the nerve. The dentist recommended that it be taken care of right away, to avoid the cavity exposing and infecting the nerve and causing an absess. WOW. So, now poor little Cooper has to go back for this procedure...she said he will need to be sedated, they will fill all of the cavities and do a little root canal on the bad one, as well as cap it (I think), but if that doesn't work, he may end up having to get it pulled. We have the option of just having the tooth pulled to begin with (which would still require the sedation, etc...) and not mess with trying to fix it. But then, he would have a gap there until the permanent one comes down, about age 8. I thought about this, and of course cringed at the thought of him going through that, not to mention looking like a little toothless redneck for the next 4 years. But I actually thought for a second that may be it wouldn't be too bad when my mom said, "well, at least when he would look in the mirror and see that hole there, he would remember not to eat so much candy!!" Hhhmmm... Just kidding, we will follow the dentist's recommendation and hopefully the tooth will be able to be fixed. I feel terrible, though, like this could've been prevented. I'm sure I can definitely do better at minimizing all of the kids' intake of sweets, but the fact that Jadan and Shae eat pretty much exactly what Cooper does and their teeth are fine, makes me feel a little less at fault. But those of you who know Cooper can testify of his sweet tooth, so we will have to work on that...