Appointments

It’s been a week of running to various appointments, most requiring significant driving time. The boys both had dental appointments with a pediatric dentist on Tuesday. This was their first visits to a private dental service and I think it was so worth the extra expense. I won’t say it went completely smoothly though. The anxiety and selective mutism of both boys did cause some bumps along the way. But both cooperated in the end and I think they are less worried about returning, even though Lego Lover claims his dental phobia is worse. I think the worst that happened for him was having to taste the latex gloves used by the dentist. Apparently they try to keep the staff the same at each visit so that children build up trust and confidence in the professionals. I suppose this mostly works until they have staff turnover, of course.

Anyway, both boys got good dental reports with regard to brushing and don’t have to return for another nine months. The dentist was actually gushing about Game Fanatic’s almost model mouth. His teeth have come in beautifully and there hasn’t been any staining or early signs of plaque as he usually see at this age in his patients. So braces will play no part in his future, which is great. Neither the Scientist nor I have had them either so I guess that’s genetics at work.

Lego Lover hasn’t lost a tooth in well over two years and we’ve been a bit concerned. He does have one tooth that has been loose for a couple of months but that’s it. The dentist says that the lateral incisors on the upper teeth probably should have already come through although there are some kids who are just delayed. Aside from the delay, it’s possible he simply doesn’t have these teeth to come through and it may be that the permanent canine is pushing out the currently loose one. So what to do next? The dentist suggested that at some point we do a radiograph of the entire mouth to get more information. It doesn’t have to be done now but I’d like to get the information now rather than wait. We have to go offsite for that one so will likely do that next week.

There was also a psychologist appointment yesterday that both boys attended. Game Fanatic was asked to see the psychologist on his own for a short while and that went really well. No expectations were placed on him so he was able to opt out at any point. The psychologist taught him a bit of Suicide Chess which Game Fanatic hasn’t played before and they did this for about fifteen minutes with a very little bit of conversation on GF’s part. The next session will probably be longer and involve the same game and/or some puzzles of some sort.

There’s one more appointment tomorrow for Game Fanatic and I assume that will be it for a while for him. This is a gp visit about his foot…actually a follow-up to one last week when we found out he had a ligament strain.