When Mom Really Is the Tooth Fairy

My mother was a stickler for healthy teeth.  I'm sure it was exacerbated by the fact that she lost her teeth to gum disease fairly early in her life, and was on a mission to make sure it was not going to happen to her kids.  I can't remember missing a six-month check-up even once all the years growing up; and mom instilled that same obsessive gene in me with my kids. I too have a 'thing' about their teeth.  I've even had dreams...aka, nightmares on occasion, that something's happened to one of them....and their teeth.  Yeah, that's worthy of some analysis...although I think it's pretty obvious.  But on occasion I DO listen to those dreams.

Years ago when my daughters Julie and Jory were freshmen in high school and on the soccer team...I had one such dream. 

Julie was the goalie for the team.  I went to all the games and loved every minute of it.  A couple of nights before a very big game, I dreamt Julie's teeth got hurt in the game.  I honestly didn't know the details that well; I just know it was about her teeth.  The next day I went out and bought her a mouth guard for the game. (Believe it or not...she never wore one as a goalie in any of the games.)  All's well that ends well, right?  If only that were true.

Julie never used the mouth guard. She just wasn't comfortable with it...or just didn't think it was necessary....or whatever kids think when their adrenaline is pumping before a game.

I don't know exactly when it happened....I've blanked a good portion of that day out of my memory....but somewhere toward the end of what was a wonderful game for our team, I remember seeing Julie stopping a ball and NOT getting up.  Suddenly everyone was running over to her, including her sister, Jory, and the coaches.  I had my son, Joe, with me and I started to leave the bleachers to go to the field.  By now they were getting a golf cart to transport Julie to the school for some medical attention and to make some calls.  I couldn't see much of anything as her face was pretty covered up with towels...especially her mouth.  But...I saw the fear and panic in her eyes as she looked at me.  I had to see the damage.  I looked under the towels.  Oh dear Lord...her two front teeth.  One was very loose, but in place.  The other was pushed way back in the roof of her mouth...but also still there....blood everywhere.

"I'm sorry Mom, I'm sorry Mom. You were right."

Oh my God, how I wanted to be wrong.  Never in my life had I wanted to be more wrong.  My pulse was racing...my head was spinning.  My heart was breaking.  My baby was hurt.  Jory looked sick watching her sister's agony....and still had to go finish the game.  We moved on quickly to call the dentist.

That was about 23 years ago.  The emergency work the dentist did on her that day was amazing.  He saved her teeth and did a beautiful job in the process.  He told her that somewhere down the line she may need further work done on them if they should start to cause a problem.  She has just recently been having some work done on those teeth...all these years later.  I really can't thank our dentist enough for his excellent work that day in such an emergency situation.  I think at one point they were more worried about me than Julie.  It really was my nightmare.

So, back to the present...and MY reality.  Why have I gotten so bad about going to the dentist as I've gotten older?  Well, I don't have any dental insurance for one thing.  That kind of stops me from making those little routine six-month visits my mother so instilled in me.  I'm already paying-out-the-snoot for my medical insurance premiums every month....and that doesn't even touch the deductible I have to meet.  I'm one of the gazillions in the same boat.  I feel like a hypocrite when I tell my kids to make those appointments...and I know I've been delinquent about them.  I do go when I have to.  I was just there a few weeks ago checking something out that turned out to be nothing.... but I had my teeth cleaned.  Gee, and that only turned out to be $156.  Sure, no problem.  Hey, it is what it is.  For someone who has always believed it's important to go to the dentist on a regular basis, this really bothers me.  A couple of my kids....and they shall remain nameless....are not good about going to the dentist.  They have no excuses.  They have perfectly good insurance, by the way.  They just don't make the time...and aren't in love with the idea of going.  Well my darlings....who is?  Would you prefer this alternative?  No pressure.... 

  

Comments

[cassie-b]

We both go to the dentist every 6 months, and now don't have any insurance since I quit working. I think we'll continue, but it's always $100 or more each visit.
cas
Where IS that tooth fairy?

[MaryB]

So timely for me, Joy. I just today made my first dentist appt since moving to NYC three years ago! Aaach! I've very "teeth-proud," too - very unlike me to put off the dentist for so long. (BTW, this tooth fairy still has all of Kate's baby teeth in a special little box in my jewely box.)

[janeywan]

That photo is enough to scare anyone into going to the dentist.
He sure looks happy though.

[Darlene]

Wherever did you find that photo? Talk about bad teeth!!! I think it has scared me into going to see about that aching tooth I have.

[Tara R.]

I totally blew off my last dentist six-month appt. I think I need to call and reschedule.

[kenju]

Lordy, what a picture that is! LOL

My daughter (now 36) knocked out 2 of her baby teeth in a 'running on a brick sidewalk' accident when she was 2. We were out of town at the time, which made things even harder. Luckily, the docs at the ER were able to put the teeth back in place and they stayed until they fell out naturally.

Having had gum disease since I was about 23, I understand your fears. I haven't lost any teeth yet, but it is inevitable.

[Nancy]

Joy,

My youngest son,Jerry (His name would have fitted perfectly in your family,but you can't have him)lost two baby teeth in an accident when he was about four years old.

The dentist made him a little metal "Spacer" that he was to wear to bed so it would hold that space for his second teeth. It was expensive ($200.00) in 1964, and we didn't have dental insurance either.

My Dad came to our house all the time and he liked to straighten up, so he decided to clean the kitchen.The first thing he did to "Straighten" up was to throw the little retainer down the garbage disposal.

So, we not only had a new retainer to buy, we had to call the plumber to get the garbage disposal fixed....

[joared]

Having or not having dental insurance makes a big difference for so many people caring for their teeth with regular checkups.

One of the areas of intervention for which I provide therapy is swallowing. Please believe me that as you get older dental problems may well begin to present increasing difficulties in your eating skills, potentially challenging your ability to enjoy food while trying to obtain adequate nutrition. Do you really want to eat pureed food because you lack molars necessary for chewing, just for one example?

False teeth can present another whole set of problems.

Try to keep your teeth and gums in the best possible condition on a regular basis as you can now even if you must scrimp in other areas. Don't assume "it will never happen to me. Years to come you will be glad you did.

I should write a blog piece on this topic from my professional perspective, but this suffices for now. You are cautioned! *smile*

[Beverly]

During the years I never opted for dental insurance because we could not go to the dentist we'd always had. Thankfully we got the orthodontics paid for, and thankfully my children are still making those six-month appointments. Sarah has had to has some work done by an endodontist, and that isn't cheap.

The comments here are great, particularly the last one. Good advice.

Thanks for stopping by. I have not been good about keeping up with blogs.

[Hattie]

My two front teeth came in with mottled enamel due to a high fever from measles. Make sure your grandkids get all their shots!

[cosmetic dentistry beverly hills]

Oh no! that posted picture was hilarious, but nowadays that teeth can be as nice as he wants trough the help of modern technologies in dentistry.

-heather-