pre-orthodontist appointment for the boys

The boys have been having their mouths checked to see if they may need braces. My husband and I don't have the best teeth (although mine are considerably better than his!), so we are trying to be proactive on our options for the boys. They have had two consulting appointments. On Monday, we were back again to see how the boys’ teeth are aligned. So far, so good!

Bob has 11 adult teeth, so he still needs 9 more. The orthodontist said his jaw looked good, but two of his teeth will eventually have to have their alignment corrected. SJ has 8 adult teeth, so he is waiting on 12 more. She said his jaw looked good too, but he is probably going to need some corrective alignments.

SJ was first in the chair. He started chatting away. The orthodontist asked him how he was. He replied, "I am 9 years old. I am in the fourth grade. I have a boy teacher this year." She asked, "Do you like your teacher?" He said, "Why yes. Yes, I do. Bob is 11 and in the 5th grade. He has a girl teacher." The orthodontist laughs and said that was good. "How many grown-up teeth do I have?" asked SJ. (That is why I now know this.) He continued to chatter away, which was a little problematic for the doctor to do the exam. "SJ, that is enough," I said. The orthodontist smiled at me and got through the exam.

When we got home and I told my husband about the appointment, he just thought it was great that SJ was talking so much. "I know. It is great, but sometimes he just chatters too much," I said. "I'd rather have that problem than him not talking at all," said my husband. He couldn't be more right. I will take a talkative child on the spectrum any day, because the alternative is a sad memory that I like to forget.