Dentist

At Kara's two year checkup her doctor suggested we get her in to see a pediatric dentist. With all the vomiting and reflux, plus still having bottles of Neocate every day, she was worried that her teeth were starting to look a little opaque, like maybe the enamel was beginning to wear off. The last thing Kara needs is tooth problems on top of everything else that she's gone through. I made her an appointment with a pediatric group that comes to the area once a week - we were fortunate to get her in, in just a matter of days. In fact, they were able to take both girls so Brenna had her first dentist appointment at the same time! (How did she become four already? Where have the last few years gone with her???)

Brian was unable to get work off - with it finally getting nice outside he has been busy. I had my wonderful, helpful cousin come with to help me out, figuring I'd need it. Kara is pretty used to getting checked out and I was most nervous about Brenna. They called Brenna's name and she went back like such a big girl. She got a little weepy, we could hear her a few times while they were trying to coax Kara into letting them check her out! The girls that worked with my girls were amazing. Kara got a fancy pair of sunglasses to put on and they used the brush on her fingernail, counting each one, showed her how they squirt the water - Kara thought this was all pretty cool! Next was getting the chair up high enough and then laying her down. This is when she panicked! We got through it, I held her down, trying to console her and Marie went back and forth between Brenna and Kara. The dentist soon came over and played with her a little bit before we got settled for him to look things over. The good news is her teeth look great! He was very pleased at how well they look for everything she's been through! I explained how we have to hold her down usually to brush her teeth - that morning was especially a battle. You have to have clean teeth before the dentist, right? I held her down while she was screaming on the floor to brush them! Terrible! He said this is typical two year old behavior!

Brenna did ok and then had to have x-rays done. She had a fit. The lady that was doing her x-rays was a little rough with her and I wasn't very happy about that. They are uncomfortable and Brenna was scared to death. I'm SO glad I had Marie there to help me out, but both girls crying for me was pretty tricky! They both got a wonderful review from the dentist, with the exception of the crowding they have in their mouths already. Both Brian and I had major crowding issues and years of orthodontic work so this was no real surprise to me. I guess we better start putting money away for their braces now!

I'm so glad to have that behind us. They both need to go back at six months. Hopefully that one will be a little easier. They explained that each time it gets a little better!