dentist appt.'s

It was that time again, the 6 month dental cleaning/ check-up. Our dentist's office sends up reminders in the mail, which is a good thing, because I can't remember everything. The cool part is that I make 1 appointment for all five Wardlings. This time when I called the office and told them my name, she knew exactly who I was and that the appointments would be made for all five children. Not bad customer service. Granted, I wonder how many patients have 5 children in the same family. They don't call us back individually, it's the Ward Family. I like that. This morning, I arranged for them to have the 1st 5 appointments the office had. The only thing that I would have them do differently, is to have each of the kids in their own chairs. We occupied the back 2 chairs and the kids rotated in. Then once their teeth had all been cleaned, then the last 2 stay in the chair and the dentist comes in to do her thing. Good news, no cavities in anyone. I am so proud. All of our nightly and morning battles to get them to brush their teeth have paid off. The older girls do have to go back though. Erin needs to have 1 extraction, a baby tooth that has hung in WAY too long. It's wiggly, but won't come out. I am hoping that Erin can wiggle it our prior to Monday's appointment. Then, she has 6 of her 8 permanent molars and they need sealants. All in all not bad. Libby on the other hand has to be measured for some spacers and bands. She has a small mouth and a bunch of teeth. She has spaces between her front teeth, but I guess that's crunching her back teeth together and still not giving her enough room in her mouth. The other teeth need to be moved forward. She'll need braces. Libby is thrilled to get these spacers. I think, she thinks that they are like braces, of some sort, and to her, it's a status thing. Wahoo! Penny was a trooper. She only bit the hygienist once, but it was hard. The guy yelped. I had to hold back a giggle. I know, I'm sick. I did tell Penny not to bite anymore and that it wasn't very nice to bite. I guess that the hygienist has to expect that out of some children. She didn't break his skin, so really, mission accomplished with her cleaning. Josh was another trooper. He sat and had his bite wings x-rayed and had such a good spirit. That's Josh though. The only bad face he made was to the taste of the fluoride that they put on his teeth at the end. Jacob did cry a bit. He has had some bad dental experiences. He has fillings on his front few teeth, and we've had to go back several times to have them repaired. He didn't like that, and so we have had to use the papoose board a few times. Today he was just upset during the cleaning, but was all smiles for the actual exam. Yeah...no cavities!