…while i spin in a silent mindfunk bad parent spiral because—although we’re coming to the end of a six-day stretch without my husband and we have survived… (sort of…)—i just found out that clyde has SIX cavities, two so bad they will probably require “baby root canals,” and i’m trying not to cry over my poor child’s upcoming dental doom and our shameful parental skills—all of which, of course, then spirals into a running tab of horror: i’ll never get all the poisonous plastic out of our lives! i’m ruining the future of the planet with disposable diapers! we use too much water and now have a broken sprinkler i can’t fix! my pure little boys are going to live toothless, poisoned, ruined, full of drought futures, and it’s all our fault! {{{exhale}}}.
trust me, it’s best i don’t write any more of a post right now. i will continue to post pretty pictures though. if you are into that sort of thing. you know, looking for the pretty that looms above all the ugliness. and good for you, you optimistic bowl of sunshine. seriously, good for you…
Ohhhh. I do know how you feel, because when she was 3 my dd had 8 molars so decimated by decay that they all needed crowns. She had a few of those baby root canals also. I fired the first dentist because he was an egotistical blowhard just trying to blame me- and well, you know folks with anxiety disorders don’t really need that! We found someone else and they were all done at once. It was a good experience for her, and she feels good about her teeth, even though she knows cavities are bad. She rather enjoys her sparkly mouth and will probably be sad when they all fall out.
Take a day or two to cry, it’s ok, really. You’ll be ok, and Clyde will be ok. And we are not failures.
I am terrified of teeth and their problems. But look, something shiny! Sunshiny! (Why does the blog spellcheck think “sunshiny” is a word but “spellcheck” isn’t? Not that I think it is, I’m just saying. I think neither one is. But apparently I’m wrong.)
oh gosh. so sorry. thinking of you all. xox
oh man. alot of my friends have had to undergo this same baby root canal too. the kids were troopers while the mommas were a wreck. why is there no escaping the momma guilt? even though IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!! so, find those pretties and share them, will you please? that’s my remedy for life’s harsh realities. i’m easily distracted with shiny bobbles and bird wings and baby elbows.
you know, dental problems are just as much genetic as environmental (so, let’s blame ed). also, they are baby teeth and he will get replacements. finally, you are an amazing beautiful mama.
I blame the sugar in all those fruit drinks that doctors push on us. Have a juice instead of a lemonade, they always say. Apparently, the juice has more sugar than the lemonade. The dental work won’t be as bad as you think. And you are a brilliant Mum. My son needs braces because the dentist reckons I let him have a bottle for too long. They’re always so quick to blame us, aren’t they? I felt guilty about it for a while but now I think:’Well, I did the best I could, so there.’ Don’t blame yourself.
although i have never had one filling in my life, i know that i cannot take credit for that–it’s all genetics. my dentist even tells me that i’m lucky, but that it’s the “lucky” ones whose teeth all fall out at once. so, given the choice between dentures and fillings, i think i got robbed. i also married a man i like to call “filling face” because he has a few fillings. so he will be cutting up my food for me when i have no more teeth.
oh so sorry… my girl had 4 cavities the dentist said we could do nothing about… but i would reccommend getting a second opinion- insurance should cover it… the 2nd dentist we saw did a much less drastic filling job and was shocked at what the other dentist reccommended…
thank you all so much. your comments have helped immensely.
our family dentist did recommend a child dentist, so i’m hoping we’ll find our dentist overreacted (even a little, please!). but, if not, now we know what kind of teeth we’re dealing with over here. we’ll get through it. sigh.
don’t beat yourself up. baby teeth don’t count anyway.
Ahhh yes…I might respond with the same advice as others but here is my story. Eli (my oldest) now 4, at 2 he had every single tooth except for 2 with decay. Shock and horror! Then they tell me it’s from night time breastfeeding and not taking care of his teeth properly. Blame, shame etc… He had to undergo surgery. Anesthesia, 4 baby root canals, 5 crowns and 2 little silver teeth in the front. All of his front top four teeth are fake but at least they are white. The worst part was when he woke up from being knocked out. He was just so scared and sad and weepy and swollen! But he bounced back in a few days. It was eye opening. I feel sad that I’ll never really know what his baby toothed smile will be like without caps. But, he will get adult teeth, he hardly gets a cavity now (because most of his teeth are fake) and he thinks his silver teeth are cool! End of story. Best wishes to you and your little one.
I think it must ba a 5 year old rite of passage. My (middle child) five year old just had a simular report – 4 cavities! Bummer! My oldest had 6 at 5 years old. The good news is that Amelia hasn’t had a cavitiy since then – and boy Lilly is really on brushing her teeth now! Even the 3 year old is brushing his teeth with out hassle! The other good news is that while they will have to be fixed, they will fall out! Leaving perfect adult teeth! I have a super pedia dentist – Dr. John Birch on Scripps drive. Check him out Sheri – he’s super!