Gage's Dental Work - posted: Jul 23, 2009 at 8:01 PM

About a month ago I decided it was about time I got into the dentist it has been a few years. I decided to take Gage in with me just so the dentist could get a quick look and tell me if I should take him in. Well he found a couple cavities. :( My first thought was what kind of horrible mother am I to let this happen...So then I was wishing I had brought him in sooner but I kept getting conflicting information from different dentists on what really is a good time to take your child in for their first appointment. (just so everyone knows I have since found out from a pediatric dentist that it's between the ages of 2 and 3. Even if they are not complaining of pain) So our family dentist suggested I take him to a pediatric dentist. I made the appointment after calling around at a few different places to see how experienced they were and if our insurance would cover them and just to see who I had a good feeling about. I am really happy so far as to who we chose. They have been great. I took Gage in on Tuesday he 21st. He didn't talk much he is kind of a shy kid (not sure what happened there, he didn't used to be) but he did everything they asked of him. They cleaned his teeth after showing him all the different tools they would use. He even got a little toy and a bag of goodies afterwards so he's feeling pretty pumped about the dentist. :) We got some bad news. He has a cavity on every single one of his molars but one. so that's 7. and one of them he was going to have a little baby root canal on and a silver cap. That's when I started getting worried. When I used to see kids with silver teeth my first thought was, geez does their mother just never brush their teeth...Everything changes when you are there. I feel horrible. How could this happen? I started crying on my way home just trying to think why this has happened to him. A lot of it is probably genetics. My teeth are great but his dad is not so lucky. And I do admit I may not have started brushing his teeth as early in his life as I should have. And I know they tell you not to do it but I let him go to bed with milk every night for the first 3 years of his life. They tell you not to do things for a reason I guess. But he almost never gets candy or soda. I don't know, it's done with and I need to stop blaming myself. It happens. At least it's his molar and not one of his front teeth, so people won't really notice. And it's only a baby tooth even though he won't loose that one till he's like 10. Getting back to the story...We made an appointment for the very next day to do one of 2 rounds to fill his cavities. They were going to start on the side that needed the cap. They sent us home with 3 prescriptions that I would give him 1 hour before his appointment to kind of sedate him. I didn't try to prepare him for the appointment because I didn't want him to get nervous. He was excited to go back. I didn't think the medicine was working cause when we got there he was yelling across the room at me and running around and jumping on the chairs he even tried taking his shoes off like he was just making himself at home, and that is totally out of character for him in a place he does not know well. I couldn't help but laugh. I figured the medicine was going to make him calm and drowsy. We got him in the chair and put the Nitrous on him and that was it. he laid there and watched the TV. He sat there not even flinching or complaining through the shots, through the drilling and grinding. He did great! I am so proud of him! The dentist told him he could come back any time, it was too easy. They didn't have to numb his top jaw because the cavities on those teeth were so small he wouldn't feel them drilling. It was too funny though because his right side of his lower jaw as well as his tongue were numb so he was doing some silly things to his face and moving his tongue in and out. LOL... He slept on the way home then when we got to his grandmas he had a bit to drink and took a nap. The first thing he said when he woke up was all better as he tapped his cheek. I asked him if it hurt to get his cavities filled and he just looked at me. I am not sure if he remembers, so I'm glad. He's even excited to go again so they can do the other side. He thinks his silver tooth is cool and that he is special cause he has one. He hasn't complained about it hurting even once. He's such a great kid!!!! And I am so lucky to be his mom!!! :0)