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Yesterday my daughters had their first orthodontist appointment. (Yikes!) It actually went better than I thought it would. Three of my girls are now on an "observation track," meaning we'll go in every six months or so and see how things look. They'll likely be on this track for several years as we pull teeth and try other things to make space for their adult teeth. One of my girls goes back in six months and will probably need braces at that time due to a crossbite (what I would call an underbite). I guess if we do this one at a time it won't seem like such a financial blow, right?!
It was really funny watching them interact with the orthodontist. My normally shy daughters were talking over one another to get his attention and he thought they were all hilarious. I found myself trying not to burst out laughing at the following conversations:


Orthodontist: "So your mom says you like to swim. Where do you like to go swimming?"
M: "At the pool."


and then later....
Orthodontist: "You like to draw? What do you like to draw?"
K: "Pictures."

My husband summed it up best: my daughters are smartasses without even trying.

It's Time for the Orthodontist Already?!

When my daughters went to their first dentist appointment, the dentist told me all four would eventually need braces. This didn't surprise me, as Hubby and I both wore braces. I was lucky and only need mine for about a year and a half. Hubby wore his a bit longer and needed one of those palette cracking torture devices. What did surprise me is that at our last check up the dentist said he wanted me to take all four of them to the orthodontist... now. 

What?! I wasn't prepared to take them this young (age 6). In fact, I've really been in denial about the whole thing. I'm just not ready to think about sinking thousands of dollars into my daughters' mouths.

The most common reactions I receive when I tell people I've scheduled orthodontist appointments for my daughters is "Get a second opinion" or "They're too young." The thing is, I actually think the dentist is right. My girls all have tiny mouths. Their teeth are "crowded" in there. As they lose their baby teeth, their adult teeth are bigger than the space allotted for them, so they're knocking out other baby teeth. Case in point: Q had to have two teeth pulled this week to make room for her adult teeth. 

Several of my neighbors recommend the orthodontist we're going to see. He will apparently tell you if it's easier/better to have a few teeth pulled versus putting on braces. One of the neighbor girls who is going into third grade only has braces on her two front top teeth because those teeth were hitting her bottom teeth and could have caused major damage. Our first orthodontist appointment is in two weeks. Wish me luck... my wallet and I are going to need it!

And the Competition Begins....

Not to be outdone by Roo's three lost teeth, all accompanied by memorable stories, Tortilla decided it was her turn for the spotlight. On the first day of kindergarten, she came running out of the building to tell me she had a loose tooth. Apparently the carrot sticks I packed in her lunch helped jar the tooth loose. Then, a few weeks later, we noticed the tooth next to it was also loose. Last Thursday, Tortilla finally had her "loose tooth story."
Thursday night her two loose teeth were hanging by threads. I realized if they didn't come out that night, one or both might come out at school and truly become lost. I took her into the bathroom, shut the door to avoid curious sisters, handed her a tissue and told her to pull. Voila. One tooth out. She was so in awe of losing her first tooth that we needed Hubby to yank out the next one. (Trust me, it took just a small tug). And there you have it: Tortilla lost her first tooth and her second tooth within minutes of one another, definitely another fun "loose tooth story."
This all means, of course, that Cakes and Sue Sue are frantically wiggling their teeth to see if any of them are loose. So far, no. I'm afraid that by the time the fourth sister loses her first tooth her "story" will simply be "Remember how long it took for you to finally lose a tooth?!"

Every Tooth Has a Story

I don't remember having lots of stories to tell about losing teeth. They fell out. The Tooth Fairy visited. The end. Roo, on the other hand, has had a story about every tooth she has lost so far.
Her first tooth fell out on the fourth of July. That in itself seemed like a fun story since we were visiting family and they got to mark the milestone with us. But it gets better. She was eating watermelon and thought she had a seed in her mouth. She found the seed and threw it on the floor. Unfortunately, the "seed" was her tooth. It took several minutes, but we managed to find it.
Her second tooth also came out while she was eating. This time, however, we never found it. Why? Because she swallowed it. She and I wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy, explaining what happened. If your mom or dad signs the letter, then the Tooth Fairy knows you truly did lose it.
The other night Roo lost her third tooth. She had asked me a few days before if I thought it was loose. It seemed like it might be loose, but didn't appear to be ready to come out any time soon. Wrong! She was brushing her teeth and when she "spit," a ton of blood filled the sink. It took me a minute to realize what had happened, since, again, the tooth didn't seem too loose. But where was the tooth? She swore she didn't swallow it. I figured when she spit, it went down the sink. She claimed it came out of her mouth when I wiped toothpaste off her chin. Sure enough... tooth in the tissue I used to wipe her chin. 
Roo has great stories to tell about each loose tooth. I wonder if these tales will continue with the next teeth that come out. And in case you're wondering, the lost tooth count is Roo: 3, Sisters: 0. Needless to say, they're ready for some loose tooth stories of their own!

Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle

For months now, each of my daughters has been convinced she has a loose tooth. From time to time they have even convinced me they have a loose tooth. It seems like it might be moving. Then Hubby all but rolls his eyes and concludes the tooth is not loose. As I found out the other night, you'll know when your child has a loose tooth.
I floss the girls' teeth every other night. If you are able to floss your child's teeth every single day, then go ahead and judge me for only doing it every other day. The nightly routine is chaotic enough. I'm surprised we stick to the every other night flossing. Besides, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I flossed as a child. Anyway..... I was flossing Roo's teeth and kept looking at one of her front bottom teeth. Why was there suddenly a strange gap between that tooth and the tooth next to it? Oh no... are we going to have to go in for an emergency dental appointment? I touched the tooth with the flosser. It moved. Yep. Our first loose tooth. We had to halt the tooth flossing and brushing so she could wiggle the tooth for her sisters and Hubby. Hubby, of course, did not believe us, until he wiggled the tooth for himself. 
He and I agreed... that tooth is likely coming out in the next week. This sent me into a panic. When he and I went downstairs I threw $10 at him, with strict instructions to go to bank the next day and get gold $1 coins. I've been meaning to do this, but kept putting it off. Can you imagine what would happen if the Tooth Fairy dropped the ball on our first tooth?! And yes, I said $1. I think for my first ever visit from the Tooth Fairy I received a silver dollar. After that, teeth were probably worth 25 cents. Do not tell my daughters there are children out there who receive $5 or even $10 per tooth. We would be in the poor house!!! This Tooth Fairy hands out $1 gold coins.
And now we wait. Every morning we wiggle Roo's tooth. She's a little concerned about when it might fall out. I've assured her it won't come out in the pool or while she sleeps. I've explained to her that it might fall out when she's eating, so if she bites something hard she should spit it out. That's all we need... for her to swallow her first loose tooth! So far, none of her sisters are jealous. Sure, they want to know when they will have a loose tooth. But for now they're content to be excited for their sister.