I never had dentist problems. I grew up seeing Dr. Wylie, in Americus, and he was a friend. At 34 years-old I've still never had a cavity. Jason, on the other hand, hates the dentist (I met his and I may know why . . .). He has pretty good teeth, but abhors the biannual cleanings - they always seem to come up with something wrong.
At some point, Denys has had experience with the dentist. That experience may not have been terrific, but at least he didn't run screaming when we broke the news he was going. And like any good parents, we didn't tell him until we were headed out the door. (No sense worrying over the inevitable, right?)
We arrived at Southern Dental, in Carrollton, 15 minutes early for his appointment, and they took him right in. The hygienist (whose name I am embarrassed to say I have forgotten) was awesome and did her best to make Denys as comfortable as possible. She asked me if he had any mouth pain or problems, and I told her he had not mentioned any, but that I would ask - via Google Translate. He denied any mouth problems. Then she asked me to tell him she would be doing bite-wing x-rays of his teeth. I told him:
"She will take pictures of your teeth. X-rays."
Which translated:
"вона буде знімати ваші зуби. рентгенівських променів."
He freaked out.
Unfortunately, on the Google Translate app you cannot easily double check what had just translated. Once home I tried it again and posted it back from Ukrainian to English and it translated:
"She will remove your teeth. X-rays."
As I'm writing this I am laughing my head off! No wonder he panicked. Poor kiddo! But, together we calmed him down and she showed him on herself first every procedure she was going to perform on him. And the rest of the visit was a breeze. Just like my other kiddos, he thoroughly enjoyed "Mr. Thirsty." (That suction thingy.)
After his cleaning the dentist came in and said that his teeth look really good. He has no new cavities, but . . .
Sidebar: The word "but" is one that I don't often love to hear or to see. The only place it's ever good news is in Biblical prophecy when God is showing his great grace. Otherwise "but" generally leads to a big fat mess.
But, she continued, the four fillings done earlier (in Eastern Europe) were completed with a material that is falling to pieces. There is more decay around the fillings where they are coming loose and one is even leaking. It's not urgent, but these need to be fixed. There are also some orthodontic issues that will need to be addressed in the future, but are fine for the time being.
Want to know how much fun it is to tell a kid that you're doing great and have no cavities, but your fillings have to be redone so it's dental work for you?!? Well, it's not. In fact I'm probably going to have to call the translator to explain this one. Great. And not only that, but we have to squeeze this work in this week because he leaves early Tuesday morning. Double Boo! (Insert prayer request - Pray that the dentist is either able to complete all the work early Wednesday morning or that there is another opening this week so the work can be finished before he returns home.)
Before I move on let me just say that Southern Dental was wonderful to us today. They covered the cost of this first visit and gave Denys a great gift by doing so. Their treatment rooms are bright and airy and immaculately clean and their staff all seemed happy to be working. Visiting there ranks as one of the most pleasant dental experiences I have ever had. (We're seeing if they're taking new patients!)
After the Dentist we came home and the kids played for a bit before Jason took them wood chopping. I know, it seems he thinks we live in 1872 in a Little House in the Big Woods. (ha) And yes, Shane Smith, our heat works just fine. But, the man loves a fire and a fire requires wood, so off to the lease to chop down trees it was for him and the kiddos.
I met him later and took J to piano while he continued wood hunting with Denys and MG. We all met up back at the house just in time for me to grab MG and take her to gymnastics. Finally all meeting up at Mimi's to watch the stomping that is the SEC. (Alabama #1. Georgia #2. Thank you very much.)
We introduced him to what our friend, Brent Vohun, refers to as "football food:" buffalo chicken dip, chips, rice krispy treats, fried pies, etc. I left after the first quarter to bring the baby home and put her into the bed, but the word on the street is that he's eaten so much junk he may puke tonight. Great. I told The Preacher that was all him.
I only took one photo today of Denys and didn't love the way it turned out. Instead of pictures tonight I'll leave you with this little jewel of a video.
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