Sinking Our Teeth into a Future of Orthodontia

Well, as expected, Patricia's mouth is feeling better all the time and she's getting used to having her teeth tethered in tin. Meanwhile, Dr. Thomson told Margaret it won't be long now for her braces. We'll then have to make the big decision regarding her implant. Margaret was born missing a tooth. One of her baby teeth came in as a splt tooth -- one root that split at the gumline and looked like two little teeth. But the space it took up was where two teeth would normally come down. So instead of having 22 teeth as a young child, she had 21. That caused shifting and a challenge for the orthodontist. Her braces created a space for a permanent implant. There are a few choices; we just have to decide the best course of action. And that decision is made in conjunction with the orthodontist and her dentist.

Patricia's situation isn't missing teeth. It's crowding and a bit of an overbite. The bite isn't noticeable, as in what everyone commonly called "buck" teeth. But her top teeth do come over the bottom more than Dr. Thomson would like. But she still has a few permanent teeth that need to come down and there's not a whole lot of room available. So her braces will be on closer to three years. We can only imagine what's in store for Baby Brigid. Never having endured braces myself, I have no idea what it's like to have that mouth full of metal, but the girls are and have been enduring it with great aplomb.

Speaking of teeth and Baby Brigid, I think she's cutting another tooth -- a molar possibly -- which has caused her some crankiness, lots of gumming of her fist and some considerable drool. Could be the cause of her runny nose, but if the boogies are any indication, I still think she has a cold. Lots of mining going on up there as we try to chip away at the stalactites hanging from the roof of her nostrils.

Yesterday was a good day Baby B-wise, although she was very tired near dinner time. It's just as well she didn't get a nap in because Jack tried using a new-to-us bread machine in the hopes of making pizza dough for dinner but instead he got pizza dough bread so we all went out for pizza. Brigid managed to eat a good portion of a slice. She just worked away at it in her fist, taking chomps out of the crust, the cheese, the broccoli that managed to stay glued to the cheese. One thing we've realized is this kid does not like milk, at least of the bovine variety. Although she's still nursing and eats a lot of yogurt, this could be problematic. Her brain development, which has proven to be pretty significant, does indeed need the fat found in whole-milk products. I'll have to confer with her pediatrician to see what he recommends for a kid who shows no interest in what we all take for granted as a kid-friendly beverage. I'd better get mooo-ving on that one.