A Dentist visit ( A few weeks ago!)

Handy Manny has a neighbor named Mr. Lopart. Mr. Lopart owns and runs a candy store with his cat Fluffy. He is an overweight, balding man who is always trying hard to be the cute Mexican handy man but fails miserably. It shocked us when, after watching an episode, that Tyler called himself Mr. Lopart. But you see, Mr. Lopart hurt his tooth one episode and needed to go to the dentist. And so the name was born and Tyler's need to go to the dentist was born.

In December we had an appointment to see the dentist. You see, Tyler -the Professor- the Mr. Lopart- The handy Manny- the Winnie the pooh- the parrot- the boy REALLY wanted to go so we made the appointment. He got sick. We had to cancel. I put it off until i was sick of hearing it and made it.

The day came. He was excited about it. He was fine with going and was even fine with the idea that he was going to see the dentist. He was happy as he walked in and then slowly a tear formed as the "lady" came to talk to him and count and brush his teeth. His sweet lip quivered and 2 tears rolled down his cheeks.

The "lady" just sat and talked with us and we got a little more comfortable with "lady" and waited until the dentist actually came. While we were talking Ty kept saying thank you Dentist Lady. He thought she was the dentist. He would tell her something and say " Right dentist Girl."

The dentist caused a small meltdown but overall Ty did pretty decent. He had no cavities that they could see and his teeth looked good.

We survived the trip to the dentist....

Little People's Dentist

When I was growing up I had horrible teeth. A dentist was a HUGE part of our back to school preparations. The dentist we had growing up was wonderful and he is still my mom and dad's dentist. I was never afraid of the dentist and yet, still always had cavities.

When Tyler FINALLY got teeth a few of them grew in rotten and missing parts of them. It was horrible. We quickly found a dentist in Arizona and worked to get his teeth fixed. It was not fun. He screamed, cried and in the end we ended up under anesthesia.

When we moved back to Utah it was not top priority. He wasn't in any pain and we brushed his teeth. Last well child visit we were reminded that he needed to go to the dentist. ( Gently reminded.... See, Marisa I listen!)

So, on Tuesday we made the trek and we went on in to the dentist. We had an appointment at The Little People's dentistry. The office is officially a Special Needs Hub. They have become certified in taking care with the extra special kids and are able to give them the dental hygiene that they need.

The office staff is SOOO amazing. The front desk girl is so nice. She knew our name and directed her talking to Tyler. He loved that.

The waiting room is perfect for kids. There is places for the parents but the slides and the play place for the kids made Tyler right at ease. He wasn't even shy and timid.

He was called back to the back and they took him on a tour of the office. Showed him the rooms, offered him a toothbrush ( Super Sleuths Winnie the Pooh) and let him take his time to walk around before our appointment started.

The exam I wasn't too worried about. I was more worried about the dentist. Dr. Stewart was GREAT. He came in and talked to me and Tyler and got some information regarding his past history. He gave me a lot of information in ways that we could help out Ty's future dental health. We knew he was at high risk because of his NICU start. But I now have better information to help the next set of teeth. He was really really good.

The exam. YIKeS! Tyler did pretty good. He did cry and had some major freak outs at the beginning. He wasn't a fan of getting his teeth "counted"but Dr. Stewart was very good. Tyler calmed down when something familiar ( brushing his teeth) but the flossing was pretty crazy!

( Dr. Stewart does do lap exams and does teach them to go on the chair. He does discuss the options as to what is best for YOU and your child!)

As soon as the cleaning was over Ty was back to his happy self. He proudly walked himself out and got a prize and headed back out to play on the slide in the waiting room. He was a good sport and we will definitely be going back!!

The staff at Dr. Stewart's were amazing and very understanding of Tyler and his issues. They were friendly and went out of their way to help him have a good appointment. I would recommend his office and staff to anyone. We have our appointment set up to return!!

P.S They humored Tyler and brushed, flossed and fluoridated Mickey Mouse. Tyler and Mickey were given a teeth healthy bill of health!

To make it even better, anyone who goes to Little People's Dental and mentions Tyler, this blog or Thru the tulips will get $25 off their first visit.

Another HUGE bonus. There is SO much teeth healthy information on their webpage. Stuff you can refer to after you get all the information at the office!

So.. go, get your teeth cleaned, get all the information to keep your kids healthy and happy and smile perfect teeth!

* Dr. Stewart has rights to PCMC and also surgical centers around the valley. *

There is no place like home

Oh I can't even tell you all how nice it is to be home. I can't begin to tell the emotions and things that have made home even better.

Our flight home was delayed almost an hour. By the time we got on the plane Ty was out pretty quick. It was a pretty laid back flight. Totally packed. It was nice to get into the airport here in Arizona.

We quickly retrieved our bags and sent Dallas off to the long term parking to get the car. I put together the car seat and took Ty out to wait for Dallas. The air was warm and the night was perfect.

The feeling of home is something that I will never get tired of. This city is just where we need to be. This is our home.

Thursday I was able to get into my dentist ( thank goodness) but because of the infection in my tooth I have to wait till Tuesday to get it fixed. I was able to enjoy the day with Ty and my heating pad!

Today I got Ty off to school. Went back to bed and got up in time to give my roaster to the Relief society for a funeral and I was able to get a nap in thanks to respite. This toothache is really kicking me hard!

Home... that is where I want to be. Home sweet home

( disclaimer... Post written on pain medications... read with caution)

3 years ago....

3 years ago me and Dallas were rooming in. Rooming in to show the nurses and the docs that we were able to take care of Tyler. It was also the day that we were starting the last stretch of our NICU journey.

This year we start the day back at a hospital. Doing something that is not fun but it is much better than the NICU.

Ty is having his dental work tomorrow. We are capping 3 of his teeth, cleaning and doing all the stuff we can't do while he is awake. This is the first time Ty has been put under anesthesia without both of us present. HE usually only wants me when he wakes up but it is still hard to do it without Dallas.

He gave Tyler a blessing tonight. I feel OK about the procedure and know that it will go fine.

Tomorrow you will see the "new and improved" Tyler.

Please say a prayer for both of us that we will be OK and that we will have a quick recovery and on our way home!

I have teeth of Gold!! ( okay silver)

This might only be funny to those who were residents of Cache Valley ( or more specifically Cornish Utah) around the times mid seventies and early eighties. None the less, it is funny.

A little back ground. Around 1978 my mom and dad found that they were expecting baby #1. Baby number one came and soon after baby #2 showed up. After baby #2 came around it some how came about that the water was bad and it was rotting kids teeth. Now keep in mind baby #3 wasn't far behind #2 and !.

Fast forward to Elementary. I was never one to go without having a cavity. I am sure Dr. Mckell looked forward to my visits. I only remember not having cavities ( and yes I am not kidding on the plural part) maybe 3 times. At the time Dr. Mckell ( who am I kidding, EVERY dentist in the world) was using silver. So I have a few silver fillings.

High School and college repeat above paragraph and the silver kept a coming. My mission came and went and I had a few root canals. In fact one root canal came after I got elbowed in the face by Elder Parkinson on Pday. ( so much for the NO TOUCHING rule huh) I got sent to Michigan for that one. And since my cleanings and what not were not every six months I hit the dentist as soon as I came home. Lucky for me that was one of the times I had no cavities.

That brings me to today. I saw the dentist for the first time since moving to Arizona. This dentist was so high tech. His dentist chair had a massage feature. I asked where the dude was that massaged feet but alas there was none. The hygenist had a live camera that took pictures. The exray machine was digital and wow.. it was cool.

So the results..... yep a few cavities. Well really just one and a cracked tooth with a wonderful silver filling. When they were charting my teeth I swear EVERY SINGLE TOOTH had something wrong with it. He also kinda chuckled as he got to my bridge and asked when I "cracked" my tooth. I explained my grandpa stole it. And he laughed at me. I wasn't kidding.

The damage.... a 1200 buck mouth.


Thank goodness for insurance!!

The "lights" of the week

The Lights of the week were good and bad. Kind of mundane to but a few were really fun.

We had no therapy this week. That is always a kind of vacation for us. On any given week we have 3 in home and 1 out of home. All canceled this week so Ty got a vacation and so did mom.

Thursday was our busy day.

After a month of reschuduling I decided to bite the bullet and just go. (Ashley, I know you read my blog but the dentist isn't near as cool as he was when I was little. Oh I miss the days where every person who stuck their fingers in my mouth I had known FOREVER!!) We have been seeing the dentist for almost a year. As background.. He was a late teether. When he did get teeth they were strange and "not right." Some of them missing corners, some where yellow. After we moved here we took him to the dentist and have been seeing him every six months since.

We got in to see the dentist amazingly fast. I have NEVER been to a dentist that got me in that fast. We had our appointment at 1:30 and were done by 2. He took Ty's tooth brush and went to town. Ty, in true Ty fashion, screamed and screamed and then taking after his mom starts gagging. Because we happen to need a big old dose of antibiotics I didn't want to wear it so I got him to sit up. The dentist then dove right back in.

The Verdict.... Tyler needs caps. Thanks to life saving TPN we now have rotten teeth. Thanks to life saving measures he has yucky teeth. Thank goodness for socially thinking docs they come in White and no one will know.

The down part.. Sedation. Ty will have to go to a surgical center to get his dental work done. In order to do that we have to have a physical and his well "baby" ( haha) exam and in Arizona they won't give the three year old shots a day or second before they turn three. Not to mention we are booked out 3 weeks for well child exams. I lied and told them I wanted a sick kid exam then. I want this done before we start school.

After the Dentist Ty and I were invited to swim with some ladies in the ward. My new friend Mallory and Ty's new friend Kayden share the same therapists and will be going to preschool this fall were there and we had a blast. Sometimes it is nice to have someone who gets it around. We swam for several hours and came home to Dallas wanting to take Ty with him to the at&t store before our sitter was able to come.

Dallas got his new Iphone this morning and we have had a great afternoon together. Including a wonderful and yummy in my tummy steak at texas roadhouse. I think in a few weeks I will be taking Dallas to a yummy brazilian resturant... he deserves it.

I am so done this week... I have a headache and am so done with people this week. I guess here is to a new week... and less blah!!

Its 3 am and where is my hubby?

At the At&t store waiting in line for a new iphone. Rememeber THIS! well I do!! He was such a happy kid in the candy store when he got that phone. He is just as excited tonight.

I just wanted to let him know that we are so proud of him and we think that he is the best dad and provider. He makes me smile. I was able to spend some nice quiet time tonight with him outside in the rain and I truly truly think he is the worlds sweetest person.

Today he even took his little buddy Tyler out to "sit" with him and they spent a few hours sitting waiting for the Iphone. They were so cute.

I am glad that he will be home early tommorow. Maybe after he gets a nap I can get one to! I am off to sleep with a toddler in my bed.


..............Stay tuned for a update of FUN from today....... Oh and the dentist.............YUCK!