Loose Teeth!

On Monday, November 14, Joshua had a dentist appointment in the afternoon. Mamaw came over to watch the other two little guys (thanks so much!) and I drove the entire way to Elizabethtown to have Joshua's teeth checked. I keep praying for wisdom regarding this issue. He LOVES Dr.Miller, DDs, but our primary insurance only pays for 100% of cleanings and then 50% of any dental work thereafter. His secondary insurance will pay 100% of everything, but not at Dr. Miller's office. Instead, we have to drive the entire way to etown to a dentist office that is much more like the one I went to when I was growing up. It's fine, but not necessarily 'fun.' When Joshua needed his dental surgery, we discovered the issue with insurance and found this office, and I want him to get used to the same office. That said, he was terribly disappointed to go here and I don't want him to be scared of the dentist office.

This place rescheduled our appointment three times due to internal issues (someone needing to take off, the dentist not being available one morning after all, etc). I was about to give up, but we kept the appointment. They took x-rays, and the hygienist who worked on him was very sweet. He seemed to like her okay. He was terrified at the chair moving up and down - he was shaking, and I told him he wasn't going to fall. At the other office, they have it laying back automatically, I've noticed.

Joshua didn't have any cavities, praise God! He got to put a little ticket in a basket to win a prize since he was cavity-free. The hygienist asked me if Joshua had any loose teeth yet. No, I replied. I asked her when that typically happened and she said anywhere between five and six, while some kids can be later. As she was examining him, she said "Yes, he does have some loose teeth. Look here, Mom, these three in the bottom front are a little loose." She told him to wiggle them and they'll come out for the tooth fairy. Then she asked him if he knew they were loose, and he replied shyly "yes." Why, my sweet boy, hadn't you told Mommy & Daddy? I realized by his expression that he thought that this was a bad thing to have loose teeth. His first two had come out in such a traumatic way that he was horrified at the thought of others being loose! It made my heart ache.

I told him how proud I was of him for being so brave at the dentist. I told him how happy I was that he didn't have any cavities. We even called Daddy after we were done to tell him the news. And I got as excited as I could about the loose teeth. We told Daddy and Mamaw when we got home. But, Joshua still isn't sure that he wants any of his teeth to be loose. I told him in story form how babies don't start with any teeth, but they grow in just like Ryan is getting his teeth now. Then I said how my teeth wouldn't fit in Ryan's mouth - God gives us baby teeth first and then later as we grow, we get adult teeth. But, for those adult teeth to grow in, our baby ones need to come out first. So, they get loose and wiggly. He seemed okay with the story, but he told Daddy at the dinner table that night that he already had his big boy teeth and didn't want them to come out. He agreed to the story but not that it was going to happen to him.

Here's where I have to be honest and say that loose teeth really skeeve me out. All throughout my life, I've had nightmares of my teeth falling out. I'm sure that probably means something or other, but it's something that I absolutely hate the thought of. Even seeing loose teeth makes me feel a little queasy. So, I'm having to suck it up and get excited for the Bean so that he's not so scared to lose them. He refuses to touch them. He doesn't want to wiggle them. I wonder if they will fall out on their own if he eats something like an apple. I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know. But, I do know that we have to start preparing Joshua's little heart for the fact that his teeth will come out and it will be normal. I'm so sad for him that he won't have his bottom two teeth and his top two teeth at the same time. It's going to be a struggle to eat some things, I'm afraid. But, that's life, I know.

Please pray that through books and us talking about it that he would get at least okay with the idea of losing his teeth. I'd love for him to get excited, but even not scared of it would be a good start. He's seen pictures of other folks, he's seen his older cousins without teeth, but he wants to hold on to his. I'm praying that his teeth start growing back in at the right time for him so that he has solid permanent teeth - ones that don't decay and don't fall out or get knocked out. Please pray for handsome adult teeth for my boy! And for his brothers!