#27 Lenten Reflections
I’m betting at most schools it’s tooth season. To a kid under ten, a wiggly tooth or a lost tooth is like a tiny trophy. So recently, to help my students celebrate their toothy triumphs, IF they can tell me they have a wiggly or lost a tooth in Spanish, they can write their names on a poster in the classroom. It’s kind of like graffiti for kids. If you’re five or six years old and can slap your name on a poster with a fat Sharpie, it’s a BIG deal.
This took me back to when our daughter’s teeth seemed almost cemented into her mouth.
In August 2009, our daughter realized something was happening to her tooth. She was seven years old, and most days, our walk home from the bus included at least one story about a friend losing a tooth, and the coveted sparkly tooth necklace they toted home. Finally, she had a loose tooth and she was going to get it out!
In various attempts to loosen her tooth, she wiggled it with two fingers, then tried the single-finger jiggle, and soon discovered her tongue could enlist her tooth to dance. Like most kids under 10, she hoped her tooth would fall out at school where lost tooth recipients received a free trip to the nurse’s office, where the tooth holder necklaces were stashed in the bottom file drawer. Later that day, much to her dismay, the tooth fell out while playing with her brothers on the backyard lawn. The tooth was found, placed in a homemade tooth necklace, and was set gently under her pillow that night. Note: Our Tooth Fairy was frequently “off duty” on the nights the teeth were waiting to be replaced by a gold dollar or a $2 bill.
Fast forward eight years. Waiting for Cora’s teeth to fall out was like watching paint dry. They held on tight. Some things just need to happen naturally, we thought…until talk of “small jaws” was slipped into the description of our children’s mouths. Awe. Sounds cute. But then, much like a baton passed in the 400 relay, a little piece of paper from the dentist was handed to us encouraging orthodontia services. After googling ‘orthodontia’ my first thought was, “Who even uses that word?” And second, I realized all the chatter about braces was true. These metal wonders cast a wide net. Everyone from ages 7-60 were donning colorful mouths, and pockets filled with teeny rubber bands, special floss, and disposable toothbrushes. All were welcome for the low low price of $5,000-ish.
So without looking back (not sure why), we picked the best (aka – most economical) orthodontist we could find. A gem of a man, Dr. McLendon understood my matter-of-factness when I told him we did NOT want the multi-round plan. That’s when kids get braces right after they kick the diaper habit, give their mouths a break while they learn to walk, and then jump back into the metal molds by grade school. Perhaps a slight exaggeration. We settled on the standard package with a 5% discount when paid in full, and as many “free” tiny containers of floss as you can “acquire” upon exiting.
Once we paid our admission for the braces roller coaster, our trips to the orthodontist were more frequent than our Costco runs. Maybe it’s just me, but either kid’s teeth are growing in looking as haphazard as the megalithic monument Stone Henge, or impeccable, movie star teeth are now the norm. Have you seen anyone under 40? They all have beautiful pearly whites.
Back Then…
Growing up in the 70’s, our family dentist, Dr. Johnston had a hardy laugh and reading glasses permanently perched on the tip of his nose as he peered into our small-jawed mouths (oh, genetics). While we waited, my sisters and I marked up the well-loved stack of Highlights and heard rave reviews of “no cavities!” hollered boisterously from the back of the office. We’d happily head home, and Mom would mark the calendar for six months when we’d see our jolly dentist again.
You see, back then, moms like mine possessed the orthodontist superpower. This braces radar, or “BRADAR” was so powerful, that with one glance at their children’s smiles, they could determine whether they truly needed braces. 9/10 times, the answer was no. Sometimes, moms could transfer these stellar abilities to their children and let them decide whether they wanted braces or not. Brilliant. Was the word orthodontia mentioned? Never.
In today’s world, orthodontia is as common as watching YouTube for a DIY project, or a funny cat video, so buckle up – the braces train is coming!
Thanks for joining me,
❤️Lucretia
runonmom.com 