We've been visited by a fairy

Last night, Ben was up from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. and it was horrible and we all wanted to die. I knew he'd been teething for quite some time now, from his finger and clothes chewing. We even went out and bought him some popsicles the other day because he's been so miserable.

Obviously, popsicles weren't an option in the middle of the night, so I went ahead and gave him two tylenol meltaway tablets. (He calls them "medicine candies" and was happy for the idea.) STILL no luck. Finally, Stephen took him out of our bed and layed down with him in his own bed and he went to sleep. At least he managed to sleep through the rest of the night from that point until 8:45 when we got up.

This morning, I found out why the medicine didn't work. He spit it out!!! Both tablets were in the bed smooshed under the sheets. Well, no wonder! Grr. I'm so frustrated because we were pretty harsh with him by the end, assuming there was no way he could still be in pain and was just being obnoxious. Why would he spit it out? He begs for that stuff. Mmmm grape.

Anyway, as we were laying down for our nap (this is a completely different story that I'll have to get to later) he said, "Mouf no more ouchie. Mouf all better." And he even let me look. Sure enough, the first of his four 2-year molars has finally broken the surface.

Hallelujah!

Happy teeth

I have major issues with my teeth. Thankfully, I've never lost a crown, but I have chipped a filling. If it had been in the front where people could see, maybe I would have been motivated to get it taken care of right away. But instead, it was way in the back and I just ignored it. That allowed the root to get infected and lead to my eventual root canal. It was expensive and painful and just plain stupid of me to let it get so bad. I do still have dental fear, but it's getting better now that I've learned about the drug that helps you sleep through the procedures. Now, I know that if I were to chip another filling or actually lose one of my crowns (I have three now, yipes!) I'd be smart enough to go in right away.

But that's sometimes easier said than done. Dental emergencies don't just happen from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, you know? So in the meantime, I happy to see that there's a new product out there called Dentemp OS which will help manage the pain of a chipped filling until you can get an appointment to have it repaired. It also works as a paste to help cement a crown back on should it pop off at some random time. (This has happened to my mother and she couldn't eat for days!) I'll be sure and let her know about this temporary dental repair product. It sets in just 30 minutes and then you can even eat on it and everything. It's obviously not designed to hold as long as real dental work, but it will sure get you through in a pinch.

Show your smile!

My history with my teeth is shady at best. After having more fillings than I have teeth (some on baby teeth and many teeth have been drilled more than once) three crowns and a root canal, it’s a wee bit of an understatement to say that my teeth are sensitive.
I don’t bite popsicles or ice cream and I most certainly can’t chew ice the way my husband does! (Not that it’s something I aspire to do anyway.)

And to make my story even crazier, I hate mint. Yes, that’s right, every time I go to the dentist’s office, I have to put in special requests for bubble gum flavored polish and cinnamon floss. I’ve spent my whole life wishing that they’d make some sort of toothpaste that isn’t mint flavored, but also doesn’t come with a bunch of cartoons on the container.

I was thrilled to try out Biotene’s new toothpaste, if not a little concerned about the taste. Imagine how thrilled I was to learn that it really has no flavor at all. After I finished brushing with it, my teeth didn’t taste like anything in particular, they just tasted clean. I’ve used other sensitive toothpastes before, but tend not to keep them around the house because they have all these drug warnings on them about not letting children younger than 12 use them at all. But this Biotene product is just as safe as a regular toothpaste. The back just says supervise children ages 2-6 to minimize swallowing and only give them a pea-sized amount.

Considering how often my (nearly) 2-year-old gets into the toothpaste drawer, this was good to hear. He loves to use Mama’s toothpaste as well, so I will be happy to share this one with him. It doesn’t even have a strong flavor or scent that might turn him off.

As for my teeth, they feel happy and clean, but without any funky chemical aftertaste. I liked this toothpaste so much that after I use up my sample tube, I will go out and purchase more. It is really hard to live with sensitive teeth. Biotene doesn’t just mask the problem, it helps resolve it.