Friday, February 25, 2011

Amelia's delicate, petite mouth

And by that title I'm talking about it's physical make-up, not what comes OUT of her mouth. She had her 6 month check-up yesterday and all went well! No cavities, healthy gums, but too many teeth for her tiny mouth. The dentist took x-rays that showed all her current teeth as well as the ones waiting below. While it was really cool to see, it also proved Amelia has a somewhat painful few years ahead of her. I knew she'd need braces from her first appointment three years ago, but yesterday it was time to start making some decisions.

The dentist suggested in the next year we start prepping Amelia's mouth for braces. He offered a few options we could do so she wouldn't need TWO sets of braces. None of them are pain-free. Luckily Amelia had headphones on watching a movie while we discussed our options. The one that seems the most painless (in the long run) is to pull all 4 of her canines to make room for her 12 year molars, as well as the adult teeth coming in that are twice the size of her baby ones. All four of her wisdom will have to come out as well.

The very kind dentist handed me a card for an orthodontist and suggested going in for a consolitation in the next six months or so. Amelia, by this time, had realized SOMETHING wasn't right with this visit and pulled the headphones off. The dentist finished up and we left to make another appointment in a month to pull out a few teeth that were loose so we could move things along. I guess the Tooth Fairy better start saving up some money!

Amelia with her pearly white princess teeth. Too bad she can't keep them!

4 comments:

Dave & Melissa said...

Poor girl! I had braces and they were not fun. I'm glad you're making a plan now though.

Katie Call said...

Oh man. That doesn't sound fun AT ALL! Hopefully she doesn't have her aunts sensitivity to metal and react to the braces. I'm sure everything will work out!

j2 said...

The dentist literally dug up and flipped Dug's eye teeth out, almost before Dugan knew what he was doing. And then Dug went to school. No problem...and he was old enough that the tooth fairy told him that the dentist go the money for the teeth!!!

A&K Johnson said...

My sister is a dental hygienist and I talked to her about pulling Amelia's canines. She didn't think that sounded like too great of an idea. She said it is usually better to pull the premolars instead. I would definitely go to an orthodontist for a free consult. Adam's orthodontist is behind Papa Murphy's and we like him. Ask for Dr. Matt Elison!