The Dentist & Cheeks

Whenever we have a dentist appointment to take the kids to, I always remember the five hellish days following Cheeks' birth. Since she was my 2nd, I was raring to go and wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as they would let us go. I had gotten the ok from my doctor, all we needed was the Pediatrician to sign off that Cheeks was good to go.

But he didn't.

When listening to her heart, he heard a murmur which means a ton of tests and a visit from the Pediatric Cardiologist who would look at the ultrasounds and determine the course of action. I had major post-partum w/ Cheeks and didn't take it well when I was told that my daughter had a hole in her heart. I didn't care how small it is. It's a hole. In her heart. And at that time, it was somehow my fault. It was the medication I took when I was too sick to get out of bed. I missed my pre-natal vitamins one too many times.

To this day, I thank God for her Pediatrician. When we took her in two days after we got home, he gave Jack and I the best advice I've ever gotten (aside from taping her mouth shut). He told us not to treat her like she was fragile b/c she wasn't. He eased my fears and made me realize that this was not anything that had to do w/ me. It just was what it was. It wasn't something that was going to affect her life at all. Well, except in one small way.

The dentist.

For the four years that he was her Pediatrician (until we moved), he was adamant about the fact that she get anti-biotics before any dental procedure. Though it was unlikely, there was a small chance that she could get an infection in her heart and die. Okay then. So we were religious about it. Even when the dentist told us that she didn't need it (wtf?), we still did it.

Then, less than a year ago, we were told that the American Heart Association came out with new research that says antibiotics aren't needed. This wasn't taken well. So we called her old Pediatrician even though it had been two years since he'd seen her. He confirmed what Cheeks' doctor, cardiologist, and dentist said. So we don't give her antibiotics anymore.

Still, anytime she has a dental appointment, I think about those five days and how terrifying they were. This morning when I was brushing her hair (it was a sneak attack), I was thinking about those days and told myself that no matter how hard it gets with her, no matter how much I want to ship her off to my sister's house, we are so lucky to have her.