October Ouchies (mini-rants)

[Metallic Squink]

Originally Posted by Solfy

*shudder* No, not a pleasant wake-up. Mice in the house don't bother me as much as the thought of rats, and this despite knowing there's a pet rat in a cage upstairs.

We started the day at the dentist's office. Swimmy's teeth have been trouble since she's grown them. Poor kid needs four fillings redone, one baby tooth pulled, and a consult for orthodontia. She tries so hard to take good care of them, but they're soft and crowded. The nice thing was the new dentist said hers were the same way when she was a girl, and it's not Swimmy's fault. That made her feel better.

I'm in the same boat with boy #2. He also had issues with poorly formed enamel which apparently could be due to lots of ENT issues as a child. We went to an orthodontist yesterday and he needs braces (of course) but she also recommended jaw surgery because she thinks his bite is off. Um, that's a no on the surgery. Jury is still out on braces. I don't think he is too thrilled about going off to college next year with a mouth full of metal. (I know there are options like Invisalign or clear braces but they are a pain in the ass to maintain which I think would be worse than just sucking it up for two years with regular ole metal brackets). Oh and braces are freaking expensive. But he's just too handsome to not get his teeth fixed.

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by Metallic Squink

I'm in the same boat with boy #2. He also had issues with poorly formed enamel which apparently could be due to lots of ENT issues as a child. We went to an orthodontist yesterday and he needs braces (of course) but she also recommended jaw surgery because she thinks his bite is off. Um, that's a no on the surgery. Jury is still out on braces. I don't think he is too thrilled about going off to college next year with a mouth full of metal. (I know there are options like Invisalign or clear braces but they are a pain in the ass to maintain which I think would be worse than just sucking it up for two years with regular ole metal brackets). Oh and braces are freaking expensive. But he's just too handsome to not get his teeth fixed.

Swimmy inherited her father's narrow jaw, so I figured she'd be in braces eventually. MD needed them and I didn't even think hers were that crowded.
The before/after photos they took showed me how wrong I was.
Husband had upper braces as a kid, but his family ran out of money to do the bottom teeth. He finally got the lower ones fixed a few years ago and found that a surprising number of adults having orthodontia done. Turns out it's actually important for health reasons as well as appearance, as tooth/gum issues are common with crooked teeth and bad for heart health. The brackets aren't as obvious/obtrusive as they were when I was a kid. I'm glad he did it - it made a big difference in both his appearance and his confidence.