Something you can think your teeth into

Lately, I’ve been thinking about teeth.

If I had a dental report card on my life so far, I’d be a C student.  I don’t floss regularly, I get cavities and I have a few crowns.

I had braces in 7th grade to close the gap between my two front teeth. I was no Michael Strahan

but I had a gap and my mom worked for an orthodontist who gave us a great deal.

That being the situation, I was FORBIDDEN to chew gum, eat crunchy things or sticky foods–all the detriments to braces–out of respect to her boss’s generosity. That was great because I was in and out of them in less than a year.

That said, I’ve had it pretty good-my teeth are straight, relatively white and don’t give me much trouble…which is what I hope for Cash and his relationship with teeth.

Meghan has problem-free, low maintenance teeth–maybe one or two cavities in her life.  The topic of teeth does not come up often in our household…until recently.

Cash happens to be an early tooth sprouter–nine teeth poking through his gums in as many months of his life.

All would be classified as incisors-front teeth-but he seems to have his fingers in his mouth quite often itching his gums towards the back of his mouth, so more are coming!  The impending teeth are also the reason he puts everything in his mouth these days as well. (My shoes, lipstick case, apple cores from the garbage.)

Teething is a popular topic in the parent blog circuit and there are all sorts of remedies to help ease the gum and mouth pain for infants.  Ibuprofen for 6 months and above. Iced toys to chew on.  Amber beads.

These amber beads, worn around his neck, resemble a puka shell choker, which Meghan found out about while she was back in California. Aside from the fact my son came back from the trip looking like an extra from the movie, Point Break, I’m a fan of these beads since he has had almost zero ramifications of his teething- no fuss, no fevers and no diarrhea.

Cash doesn’t have his own toothbrush yet or anything. In fact, Meghan washes…yes, washes…his teeth with a washcloth.  He reacts unenthusiastically as anyone would if a washcloth were stuffed in one’s mouth. But, he’ll have to get used to cleaning his teeth for the rest of his life, twice a day.

On a side note, I preserve my toothbrushes very well compared to my wife.  After about a month, hers looks as if she stuck it in the puree’ cycle of a food blender.

Mine has nary a bristle stirred. Perhaps I’m too delicate with mine since the average lifespan of a toothbrush is 3-4 months according to deardoctor.com. (I’ve had my current toothbrush for over a year.)

Since Meghan has better teeth than I do, I guess it could be argued I should spend more time preserving my teeth than the actual brush.  And I also preserve a lot more floss, since she does it most every night and I do it about once a month when I happen to think of it.  Yes, I admit it and my hygienist already knows it anyway, so I can’t get into any more trouble.

In a way, dental care can teach us life care.  If you can learn to brush your teeth everyday, maybe you can learn to brush off troubles every day.  If you don’t promptly take care of problems, like plaque, they will build up and cause you pain later on.

If you can learn to control what you chew on, you and your teeth will stay in good shape.

If you can learn to floss every day…well…you’ll be a better man than your daddy…save more money…and take less trips to the dentist office.

If there’s any more wisdom in teeth, I wouldn’t know. My wisdom teeth were pulled years ago.