teeth, teeth, teeth

We spent Friday morning at the dentist's office. At his last dental check-up, out of the clear blue, Little Man had 6 cavities!!! I was shocked.... just shocked. We have fluoride in our water, I thought we did a reasonably ok job of brushing, but, well, he ended up with cavities anyway. All in the baby teeth. So, back to the dentist office we go, for the Big Guns.....

I've never had a cavity. BUT, I really don't think that I have myself to thank for this. I'm just lucky, and I have a family history of good teeth. The genetic dice fell in my favor on this one. This whole tooth decay thing with LM has been such a rich source of Mother Guilt for me. If only I had been more aggressive about brushing.... if only I had flossed for him.... if only I hadn't let him drink juice.... the dentist told me that decay is caused by bacteria, passed on by "caregivers." I don't have cavities, did he get it at daycare??? Ah, more guilt.... but it's not doing me any good. Can't undo anything. So we move forward, knowing that floss and fluoride swish are a permanent, and positive, part of the bedtime routine.

Can I just say for the record right here that if I ever have to have dental work, I want to have all the sedation my son had? He had some kind of sleepy cocktail, and then the laughing gas. He turned into such a loopy goofball he doesn't remember a thing, which is good considering that he had a LOT of work done in one fell swoop.

So he left the dentist minus one tooth, plus a shiny new stainless steel crown, five stickers, and four pencils. The Tooth Fairy visited our house that night (after all, despite the circumstances, he did "lose" a tooth). This time she brought a dollar.... and new Spongebob Squarepants toothpaste. Even if I feel upset about the dental bills, the Tooth Fairy is all love.