Tooth rot and other fun parenting issues

Right. So I know I promised a post all about the big homecoming, but some other stuff has happened, so we'll deal with that first, k? k.

Jonah has bottle syndrome. Follow the link. It ain't pretty. Just before I left for the US, I noticed a brown mark on one of his front teeth. I knew immediately what it was. We've been giving him formula in a bottle since he was 11 months old and I stopped breastfeeding. He refuses to give it up and even now, at age three, some nights, he asks for 3 bottles and finishes them.

But when I noticed the mark, it was too late to do anything - I was practically boarding the plane. So, like the sterling mother I am, I asked Scott to keep an eye on it and to phone the dentist to find out what we could do about it.

The dentist advised fluoride. We never got that far, and by the time I got home 10 weeks later, some of the enamel had chipped off one of his front teeth and the same thing was starting on the other.

I was so worried, I froze. You know when you can't stop thinking about something, but you're so beside yourself that you're paralysed? Yup, that was me. I convinced myself our dentist would say the teeth had to be pulled and the thought of my gorgeous boy without front teeth just killed me.

I let it sit for a full month and finally, today, I took him to the dentist.

I wish I'd done it earlier: the teeth are vulnerable, says the dentist, but all he needs is 1mg per day of flouride and kickass toothpaste twice a day. We have to watch out for gum boils (eewww), but other than that, we need to just keep them clean and keep an eye on them.

YAY! No more visions of my baby with a toothless grin. Life is truly good.

And in tomorrow's post: why you should listen to your instincts when you have a random thought about allergy meds...

Comments

[Scott]

What happened to your 'reply to whatshername' post? Does this mean an allergy-post disappointment? I love you. And your teeth. Signed, your biggest fan.

[angel]

Oy, I am glad he doesn't have to have them pulled...