Reasons small children should not consume candy.

Lulu had her first dental appointment. I know.. a little late. She did a great job. She went back with the hygienist without any fuss and loved it. They showed her some cool magic tricks with the water and gave her oodles and fun items to take home (latex gloves- she is hysterical when she puts them on.. always trying to look in my mouth). However, that is where the good times stopped.

Lulu has cavities. I knew she had one spot on her tooth, but we have been trying to cut back on her sugar (which mind you.. isn't really all that much) and were just hoping that would be the end of the line. NOPE. Unfortunately she has so many cavities that they are going to knock her out to fix them. Otherwise it would be 3 separate appointments and according to the dentist- "by the third they have caught on and refuse to go." Seriously- what kind of crappy mother am I? They did say it seems as though she has an aggressive bug in her mouth because the places they are seeing cavities aren't normal for a 4 year old. She also has a really small mouth which means all of her teeth touch or overlap (not crazy looking, but enough to cause problems). And she inherited my bad teeth so I should have guessed as much. We marched right home and emptied the little jar of candy that sits on our counter. She no longer eats any type of chewy candy (like gummy bears, etc) and we have removed fruit snacks from her list of options. We also don't let her have a sucker at the bank or anywhere else for that matter. Aside from the pain and suffering- our checkbook is also going to be in a lot of pain. Let's just say that it will cost me out of pocket what it cost for me to deliver both Lulu and Teddy combined. Yeah- don't get me started. Where is the outrage about good dental insurance? I know- we are lucky we have any, but we pay a fortune for it and still it barely covers anything. I think it is ironic that everyone is in an uproar about health care, but dental health is just as important- as I have just had shoved down my throat. So.. let me be the cautionary tale- take your kids to the dentist BEFORE they are 3. According to our dentist the optimal age is 1 1/2- 2 years old. Also, make sure your city puts in the proper amount of fluoride. Which is another issue I will refrain from venting about.

We now floss her teeth, brush them repeatedly throughout the day (basically every time she eats) and put fluoride on her teeth at night when she goes to bed. Hopefully this will preserve the few teeth without cavities. I just pray Teddy inherited Adam's teeth!