the dental saga continues

Yesterday we took Olivia to a different dentist to see about her teeth. This is the dentist that the dental financial assistance people want us to see. So we drove the 4.5 hours there and after getting completely lost finally managed to arrive at our appointment... late... but we got there. The dentist was nice enough but I must admit it was a waaayyyy different experience than the last dentist. It FELT like we were charity cases, like they didn't have to put as much effort in because they won't make much money of us.

I could be wrong. Maybe she was just shy and really tired or something. But basically she took a look at Olivia's teeth, forced her to get some x-rays (while I had to stand in the hallway watching her cry) and then said barely anything to me. I know the x-ray thing is normal and she wasn't trying to make Olivia cry... but it IS hard to watch.

Then she stood up and said "well, we will pull out her two front teeth in one appointment and then fix the rest in a separate appointment. We will use nitrous oxide (aka laughing gas) because she's almost 3 and should be ok. Someone from the program will call you about an appointment. Bye." and then she walked away.

At the other dentist he told us he thought he could save her teeth and that it would be cruel to do all that work on her while she was awake so he would put her to sleep for 2 hours and then it will be all done. He sat with us for awhile and answered our questions. He talked about anaesthesia options. He talked about all the safety precautions they take and all that they do for children. He told us what would happen exactly on that day. He was very thorough and Olivia never cried once.

I admit that the one dentist stands to make a heck of a lot more money off us than the other... but the fact remains that one said he could save her teeth (90% sure) and the other isn't even going to try. Plus I have heard several horror stories about nitrous oxide lately that freak me right out.

The thing is we may have no option. I have to talk to the financial aid people and see what they have to say. But the fact remains if we can't afford to get it done we have to go with the cheap one... whether we like it or not.

But I am not making any decisions yet. Especially since my mind is hazy in it's H1N1 cloud.

And plus God could totally work the whole thing out no problem. Like he did for Aiden's teeth! We had a $400+ bill for Aiden's teeth that we couldn't afford and dear friends of ours sent us money to pay for it. Just like that. Amazing.


Olivia did really well all day yesterday but started to cough more and more toward evening and she is certainly not her perky self today. That picture is her right now, fast asleep on the couch behind me.

The boys came with us yesterday since they are still on H1N1 quarantine. Our kids travel amazingly well and there was basically no difference for them between watching movies at home all day or watching movies in the vehicle all day. They were great. Owen had one coughing fit that resulted in him throwing up but other than that it was uneventful.
And I just read this information off of the CDC website:

CDC recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C]), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications.

which means that if all goes well the boys can return to school tomorrow! Owen REALLY wants to go back- he misses his best buddy Hunter :) Aiden is less sure of going back but I think it is mostly because he just really likes being home.
5 days out of school, 7 days at home... that is a long time. So I am praying that they keep getting better and better and can return to normal life.

That way I can lay on the couch in my H1N1 - induced stupor in peace.