On the theme of dental work, I decided to switch my youngest over from the services of the pediatric dentist to my own dentist. (I called Standard Life first to confirm she was covered for checkups at six month intervals.)
He's been my dentist for twenty years. I tried switching when I moved to Kanata nearly five years ago, but I promptly switched back. He's good, he's patient, he's kind, and he doesn't overcharge either. I was lucky to get a next day appointment for her!
On the subject of the enamel deficiency (related to early-years malnutrition), his opinion was the same as the pediatric dentist. It's surface level damage only, restricted to the baby teeth. Her adult teeth should not be affected.
On the subject of replacing the spacer (initially placed by the pediatric dentist), he thinks we might need to introduce a retainer instead, but not for a few years. It had fallen out, and his advice was to leave it for now. Several of her baby teeth were missing when she joined this family. They may have been extracted, although it's something we'll never really know. It was too soon for them to fall out on their own.
On the subject of 6-year molars, his advice is to seal them once they are completely in.
Deciding not to seal the molars of my eldest turned out to be very costly in the long run, and she had to undergo various rounds of anaesthesia and multiple fillings. I hope to avoid it this time if that's possible.
On the subject of braces, she's likely to need them. We'll revisit this later, but it's good information to have in advance and helps with longer term financial planning. Standard Life has a lifetime orthodontics limit of $1500 on my current policy. It will help a little. I'll need to factor this information into any future decision to change jobs!
He asked if the pediatric dentist had done x-rays, and if she'd seen anything. I answered that she did them, and not noted any specific areas of concern. He did not redo them.
