I'll start at the beginning - Devin's always had a weird smile. In that you can never see his top teeth, ever. Not when he smiles, not when he talks, never!
Every so often I'd peer real closely at his molars to make sure everything looked ok back there, but it never occurred to me to pull up his front lip and peer at those front teeth that never came into view. Until one day a couple weeks ago, we were messing around in the grass I and I jokingly said, "Lemme see those little teeth!", and I pushed up that lip... and this is what I saw!
OMG! WTH?? Got Dev into a dentist straightaway, and he said Dev has major cavities in the front two teeth, and decay on the teeth to either side. I was completely dumbfounded! The kid has never had a bottle in his life, I never give the kids candy, and he was breastfed up until April! Two months ago!
I brought Catty in to be checked too, and her teeth are perfect - 100% clean bill of health! I have raised these two kids like twins - they eat the same, they drink the same, I nursed them side by side and weaned them at the same time, put them down for naps at the same time, everything the same. How Catty can have perfect pearly whites, while Dev's teeth were rotting away in his mouth is completely beyond me.
My only guess is that Catty is a clone of me, and Dev is a clone of his daddy, and that extends to the teeth too. Don was ashamed to open his mouth wide because all of his teeth had fillings before he hit high school. I guess Dev just got unlucky and got his dad's bad teeth. The dentist said some mouths are just a better breeding ground for the bacteria that rots your teeth than others are.
Anyway, the little guy was put to sleep this morning and got four crowns on his front teeth. He was not a happy camper when I went to get him afterwards - his hand was dripping blood all over me and the floor from the IV. His nose was bloody from the oxygen tube, which also left his throat sore and hoarse. His lips were swollen from the dental work. His eyes were red and puffy from the medical tape holding tubes and patches in place. He was so miserable, and all I could do was hold him and cry because I felt so bad for him.
The four crowns are metal in back. It looks hella weird when he cries!
A couple hours later he was feeling a bit better, although he still staggers and falls over when he tries to walk too fast. Here you can see that it didn't matter what color crowns they put in his mouth - you can't see them anyway.
This is a lousy picture, but it was the only one I could get showing any of his new teeth at all. They seem to look all right.
I am so glad today is over. Being the strong single mom really gets old sometimes, y'know? *huge sigh of relief that it's all behind us now*