Jarom had his first dentist appointment today.
I took them to a pediatric dentist. It was a no brainer when I found out it was the same price as the regular dentist with our insurance.
The kids loved it.
They had a cute little play area with a kitchen and video games.
They both did awesome getting their x-rays (I don't know about you, but I think it hurts biting down on those things). The dental assistant said most 6-year-olds don't even do as well as Jarom did. If you know Jarom, he is very... two. And that made me feel really good.
Here's Jarom getting his teeth cleaned. When she got done, the girl told me Jarom was the best behaved 2-year-old she had ever worked on, that he made her day. Trust me, that made my day.
I don't have any pictures of Makenzie during her cleaning because I was trying to entertain Jarom with my phone. But she was an excellent patient as well.
Okay so hunky dory fun little trip to the dentist right?
Not.
All the fun came to a screeching halt when the dentist came and told me Makenzie has EIGHT cavities. I couldn't believe it. I have always been so proud of myself for being diligent about brushing their teeth every night. I thought for sure they wouldn't have any cavities. But he said the reason is because we haven't been flossing her teeth. Do you floss your kids' teeth?? Well, if you don't, you might want to start. The cavities are between her back two molars, top and bottom, and it has affected both teeth in each spot, thus 8 cavities.
The best part?
I have an $85 copay per cavity.
Throw in the numbing medicine and that's a $700 bill.
Seven hundred dollars on baby teeth??
The dentist said it's necessary because she won't lose those molars til she's about 12.
Someone shoot me.
OK! In other news, let's not forget that little Kyle is one month old today! Snuck a shot of him right before he fell asleep in the swing... getting chubby right??
7 comments:
Dentist sure know how to get you were it hurts! Ouch! I would take her to the Provo dental college where they do dental work dirt cheap or free. She going to freak out no matter who does it, so I'd go for it! Kyler brushes his teeth with the sonicare toothbrush, it's hilarious, but there is no way we would ever be able to floss his teeth! I would just start buying her some fluoride rinse!
i feel your pain. dental bills are the worst. don't be so hard on yourself, though. i think cavities are genetic, too. we never floss our kids' teeth either and we've had very few cavities. we've been very lucky. i'm not saying you shouldn't floss, but don't hate yourself. :)
wha????! That's insane! I had tons of cavities as a kid... never knew how much I was costing my poor parents!
Holy moly that's expensive! That's a lot of cavities too. Major bummer. My sister's kids' teeth are really close together and every time they go to the dentist he reminds her they need to be flossing. It is a major pain with kids to floss though. I mean, I barely manage to do it for myself a couple times a week. Weston loves those crayola flossers though. Might be a good investment.
I can't believe Kyle is a month old already! It just goes so fast! Glad that the kids were so well behaved for the dentist. Pediatric dentists are the best.
What?!
Second opinion? Were there xrays? I'm going to wake my kids up and floss their teeth tonight! James has a little plastic wand with a peice of floss strung through it. He likes to count his teeth while he watches tv.
Good luck with whatever you do!!!
Oh man that sucks! Especially because they're baby teeth! Teya had a cavity in one of her molars too and we had to get it filled for the same reason. I'm curious about your dental plan, do you know if it's cheaper if they use the silver filling? We did silver on Teya because we knew it was a baby tooth and was going to come out eventually. It was TONS cheaper than the white fillings and does the job just as well. Anyway, might want to look into that. I've never flossed Teya's teeth but you've inspired me to start!
Oh gosh, that is really a lot of money for a co-pay! Dental bills can be so frustrating! I know what you mean by being so proud of being diligent with brushing then you get shot down when you go to the dentist and hear bad news. I brushed Kono's teeth every single night ever since he had his first teeth come in. The problem was, I didn't use the fluoride toothpaste but instead the fluoride free toothpaste up til he was a little over two yrs old. Well duh me! The reason being that he complained it was too "hot" for him. To make matters worse, he was a big time juice drinker (the constant sugar from the juice (even though it was watered down) can really cause cavities I've learned. Well, after getting his teeth worked on, we switched to the fluoride toothpaste, and made him use fluoride rinse as well. I also implemented flossing but wasn't too diligent about that because th dentist put small spacers in between all his front teeth to help prevent it. Well, his teeth has been doing great up until I discovered one in between his back molar too. Now, we make sure we floss every night with Plackers (those things are so easy and life savers). My aunt who is a dental hygentist told us that brushing without flossing is like showering without washing your armpits! Hahaha! I have always been a diligent flosser for my teeth, but didn't really realize how important it is for kids to do it too until recently. Sorry for this long comment, you and others probably think I am nuts! :)
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