Since the day my first babe was born I have heard the words, “Make the most of the time that they are little, they grow up way too fast.”
Yes, they do.
We’re walking a new road. It’s called having big kids. Not that my kids are BIG, but they are getting bigger. Too fast for my liking.
And so we’re discovering new things. Things that go with having kids that are growing up.
A few months back we noticed our son’s big teeth were coming in not-so-straight. We allowed some time to pass to confirm our suspicion. Yep–they are definitely coming in all wrong. At a routine check-up our dentist mentioned some concern about spacing (or whatever word he used), and sent us to an Orthodontist for a consultation.
Ha–ignorance IS bliss, huh?
Oh my goodness, were we in for a shock!
The Orthodontist confirmed what we already knew. She went on to scare the living dickens out of me by telling me that something had to be done NOW. Not tomorrow. Definitely not the next day. Oh no, that would be way too late. Nope–it’s now or never (or live with the consequences of my bad parenting decision for the rest of my life).
Um, well, okay then. Geez. Really? Right now? My son, who has just turned nine, needs braces immediately? He only has eight permanent teeth.
There was no grace at all. He needs ‘phase one’ braces on just the top four, and bottom four teeth. Once his other permanent teeth come in, then he can have ‘phase two’ braces fitted.
Whew.
No worries. So I ask her to tell me how much this will cost.
She disappears for a few minutes and returns with a piece of paper.
Yep–ignorance IS bliss. I now know how true that really is.
As she puts the paper in front of me, my eyes immediately go down to the bottom of the page. Just tell me the bottom line, lady. I’m a bottom line kinda girl–forget all the fluff in between.
$3700.00!
For eight teeny, tiny little metal thingys. Eight! Not even the whole mouth of teeth. Just for ‘phase one’. What in the world will ‘phase two’ cost on the remaining however many teeth (way more than eight)?
Seriously?
You have got to be kidding me. Is this normal? Do you really have to take out a second mortgage on your house to pay for your kids braces?
Bless her heart–once I had recovered from the shock, she did go on the tell me that she would “throw in the retainer (which he also needs like yesterday) for free”.
I tell you, that made me feel a whole lot better. A little freebie thrown in there. Such a great deal–especially when I just knew that I will already have covered that somewhere in my $3700!
Big kids–it really is a whole new journey. Why oh why can’t they just stay little?
Oh, and Honey–you definitely are in the wrong profession! Is it too late to go to dentist school? I think you’d make an excellent Orthodontist.
