Kayla's Retainer

Uhm, yeah, it's been a while since I last blogged.  My excuses this time are (1) Jocie's third birthday party, (2) calligraphy and invitation-making and (3) Pinterest -- boy does that suck you in!!  (But I have to say, I've gotten a lot of ideas for the birthday party planning, shower invitations and calligraphy styles from Pinterest -- so maybe that counts as "research"?  Work with me here!)

Alright, so after months and months, Kayla finally got her retainer this past Thursday.  (Did I ever blog about the fact that she has a cross-bite and therefore needs a special retainer with little teeney screws that need to be rotated 180 degrees every three days so that the screws push against the back of her front teeth to correct her cross bite? And that the hope is for her adult teeth to follow the path of her baby teeth?  Do cross-bites require scary head-gear that every teenager feared when I was growing up? Is this why I'm shelling out all this money for a FOUR YEAR OLD's orthodontics?!)  Kayla had asked for a green retainer with sparkles and a dinosaur in that plastic molding part that goes against the roof of her mouth.  When she got fitted last week, there were no sparkles but Kayla didn't seem to notice, and I surely did not point it out to her.  Getting Kayla to learn how to put in and take out the retainer was stressful.  The hygienists at the pediatric dentist's office were a little... pushy? overwhelming?  Not quite sure what the appropriate word is here but I have to say I was a little disappointed.  I would have expected the staff to have more preschool-kid-friendly bedside manners.  Plus I was a little disappointed that the dentist was off and about, treating his next patient without a whole lot of follow-up on Kayla -- he didn't seem too concerned that the hygienists were having a little difficulty with Kayla.  I would have been very appreciative if he had tried showing her, even if it was just for two minutes, but instead, he left it up to his staff (to their credit, I guess?).

After half an hour I felt confident that Kayla had a good handle on taking her retainer out, but was a little uneasy about clicking it back in.  I dropped her off at school and told the teachers and assistants to be flexible for the first few days.  When Kayla walked into her classroom, her BFFs Abby and Reese were excited to see her.  Kayla immediately went up to them and tried to tell them about her retainer -- and promptly drooled all over the place.  I'm pretty sure she used up an entire box of tissues that day. :)  You could see all the kids going up to her, tilting their heads down and contorting into funny positions to get a good look at the retainer while it was in her mouth.  Later that day, at pickup, one of the teacher's assistants told me that Kayla was sooooooooooooooo excited to tell everyone about her retainer, including some parents (who also bent down and craned their heads upside down to get a good look).  Frankly, I think the retainer looks pretty scary, because those four screws are so visible.  On drive to school from the dentist I made a comment about how by the time Kayla started kindergarten she probably wouldn't have to wear her retainer anymore, and she got upset.  "No, I want to wear it always!!" she whined.

The novelty soon wore off... by Saturday, Kayla did not want to put her retainer in after eating breakfast or snack.  She seemed to do fine today (Monday) at school and didn't fuss when I put the retainer in after bath.  Hopefully she will only have to wear this thing for a few months (16-18 hours per day!) and her crossbite will be corrected and she will not have any major issues when her adult teeth come in.  Although I have a feeling she will probably get my genes when it comes to teeth and eyesight. :(

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I can't let Jocie think I'm neglecting her.  She went to the dentist too, for her regular cleaning and checkup and did a fabulous job!  She still made me sit in the chair and hold her in my lap, but she opened her mouth and did everything the hygienist and dentist asked.  No cavities!!! (And no word yet on any dental appliances!!!)