It had been over a year since the dentist started telling us that we really needed to get Josh's wisdom teeth out. Getting there was a nightmare. My husband and I were in a protracted battle with our insurance who kept rejecting our requests for a surgical situation which would be appropriate for Josh. I cannot tell you how angry that made me to know that I am employed and insured and my son has infected teeth rotting in his mouth but we can't get the help that we need to remedy this situation because our medical system is not built to accommodate people with special needs.
Josh has always had drama with his teeth since he was a baby. We brought him home from the foster family at three days old. A few days later when we found a pediatrician for a first well-baby check, she noticed that he had what is called a "pre-natal tooth". This meant that, for some reason, his little 5 pound body had decided that it should grow a tiny tooth in his teeny mouth before he was born. I hadn't noticed because I was too busy being a sudden parent and too focused on keeping this new person alive. Our doctor recommended a local pediatric dentist who also taught at Stanford and knew what he was doing even in special cases. She made a call and the dentist offered to make time that very day for us.
Dr. Adams was a calm, cool, chatty guy who let us know that the tooth had to come out because it had no root and could fall out and choke the baby. Unfortunately, Josh was too small and young to numb his little mouth so, after getting our permission, the doctor took some forceps and ripped that little tooth right out of my child's perfect head resulting in unbearable, unstoppable screaming. Thus, Josh's dental journey began traumatically and dramatically for him and for us.
After we finally figured the insurance situation out we found an oral surgeon who did a fantastic job with his wisdom teeth. Josh was not the happiest camper about going to the doctor's office but he was knocked out for the procedure itself so there was no drama there. Josh is a veteran at laying around in bed listening to music so he was happy to cooperate with the recovery. Eating pudding and smoothies for the first few days was not bad either.
The problem came a few weeks later when we needed to take Josh to the dentist again for a follow up. By then he was pretty wary of doctors' offices and pretty sick of people messing with his mouth. Josh expressed firmly and loudly that he was against it. Screaming ensued. However, it had to be done so Alex laid on him and held his hands down. The promise of a cookie when they got home empowered Josh to get over it pretty quickly and all was made well. . . until the next dental drama, I suppose.
