pearly whites- notsomuch

So Lulu is officially in the "transitional tooth phase".
Or as I like to put it, the jack-o-lantern-smile-phase.
She has a big gummy grin and is missing 4 teeth at the moment. Her new teeth are having a hard time coming in as she has a tiny mouth (though you wouldn't know it with her endless chitter chatter)
Like I did, she is most certainly going to have crowding issues.
Off for an orthodontist consult next week... whoopee!

I have to refrain from constantly asking her to let me get a closer look to see if her new front teeth are coming in yet though.
I'm becoming obsessed.
It's been since Christmas and still nothing. poor thing.
I'm trying my best not to give her a complex. Probably failing miserably...
She's the last in her class to not have her two front adult teeth and my heart goes out to her.
I was that kid too.
I remember how self conscious I felt when my two front teeth were missing when everyone else was sporting a regular smile.
Plus I just want to see if her two front teeth are normal or not. The waiting is torture.

Unfortunately she has some other dental issues.
She has Hypoplasia on all four of her 6 year molars and one of her bottom front teeth.
Thankfully the other bottom tooth is ok. whew..
The dentist can't give us a reason for it or tell us how many other teeth are affected, other than possibly while they were developing, she had a bad virus or infection that interrupted the enamel development.
So long story short, Lulu can no longer consume sugar. Which isn't the end of the world, but in the eyes of an eight year old, not great news.

We already limit sugary sweets, drinks and candy anyhow but now it's pretty much forbidden from here on in.
I was always one for moderation, but now, even that isn't enough.
Zero sugar, otherwise risk loosing her permanent teeth completely.
No orangina with her pizza on a special night. No juice, granola bars or candy from loot bags.
I don't even want to think about next Halloween...
It's actually amazing how much sugar is in our diet when you start to think about eliminating it.
It's not as easy as it sounds.
But from a health perspective, maybe it's a good thing anyhow.
So Lulu's super sensitive teeth might just be a blessing in disguise for our whole family.
At least that's what I keep trying to convince myself to stop myself from getting depressed about it.
Just have to convince friends and grandparents that "just one candy isn't the end of the world."

But things could certainly be worse.
I think about all the kids (and adults) with severe food allergies and I can't even imagine how difficult that would be.
So things are not that terrible and I need to keep things in perspective.

But it all comes back to my quest for perfectionism.
It's not possible.
Life isn't perfect.
Nor are teeth.

But thankfully there are great dentists to remedy that.