Kaitlynn's First Dentist Appointment

I've posted several times on this blog about poor Kaitlynn and her messed up front teeth. She broke one of them when she first started walking (and her dear brother gave her a little push from behind). She broke the other one last year at some point, but we never figured out when/how. Since then, her 2 front teeth have been very jagged and sharp. She often falls forward and injures her lips on her front teeth, not to mention the number of pacifiers we've had to replace due to holes in them from her teeth. My dentist took a look at her teeth back after she broke the first one and suggested that we visit a pediatric specialist. We were warned, however, that there's just not much that can be done for kids Kaitlynn's age. Upon hearing that, I decided not to pursue it and just try to get along.

Since then, we continue to deal with injury after injury to Kaitlynn's poor teeth. A few weeks ago, Kaitlynn slipped on the bathroom tile, falling face first onto the floor directly onto her mouth. She barely avoided stiches on the inside of her lip, so I decided it was time we visit the pediatric dentist to see what we could do. Unfortunately, we were told that there's not many options that wouldn't traumatize Kaitlynn. Cosmetically fixing her teeth or even just smoothing them out both require sedation and shots. On the plus side, they are baby teeth and will be replaced eventually. On the negative side, that is years and probably many more lip injuries away from happening.

Here are some pics from our day visiting the pediatric dentist. They definitely know how to cater to kids.

Upon arriving, Kaitlynn immediately sat down with the paper dolls and puzzles. I texted this picture to Jeff while we were there and he couldn't believe how grown up she looked.

Then she discovered the movie corner.

I was slightly obsessed with her big girl hair that day. :-)

The movie was "Cinderella" so Kaitlynn was mesmerized.

Back in the treatment area, there were even more toys.

When it was time for the teeth cleaning, Kaitlynn was NOT happy.

But she was all smiles afterwards when we had Chick-fil-A for lunch.

Visiting the dentist takes a lot out of a kid.

She was OUT!

Since we visited the pediatric dentist, things have gone from bad to worse with Kaitlynn's teeth. One of the front teeth has now turned an ugly shade of grey. It takes weeks for "bruising" to occur so I suspect she must've further damaged the tooth when she fell on the bathroom tile. It remains to be seen whether the tooth will die completely, fall out, or just stay an ugly grey color. Poor girl!