Aaron's Teeth

Since Aaron started losing teeth, I've thought it's been such a funny pattern. He lost a top tooth first, then a bottom side tooth, then another bottom side tooth, then another top tooth. And through it all, his bottom middle teeth have not been the slightest bit loose. I've thought it strange, but haven't really worried about it.

I took Aaron to the dentist this past week for a regular check-up.  I mentioned that he'd been losing teeth in a funny pattern, so they decided to do an x-ray of the front of his mouth to see why those teeth hadn't come out yet.

The result of the x-ray was not at all what I was expecting.  He has no adult teeth there to push the baby teeth out.  He's totally missing his bottom middle adult teeth.

This sweet little boy has been given more than his fair share of trials in this life.  He's becoming increasingly aware of how "different" he is from other kids, and this is just one more thing for him to worry about.  Scott and I made sure to tell him that this was a "cool" thing, and told him about his cousin Spencer who is also missing adult teeth (his is from radiation at a young age for cancer).  We told him that he and Spencer could be in a "missing teeth club", because they were so special.  I think that helped, but I could still tell that Aaron was worried about it.

The dentist referred us to an orthodontist, and I scheduled the appointment for April 4th.  In the meantime, I e-mailed my cousin in Utah who is an orthodontist and asked him what we do in a situation like this.  He said we'd want Aaron to keep his baby teeth there for as long as possible, to maintain the bone structure for future implants to be screwed into, but that we can't do implants till he's much older (post-mission).  Luckily, bottom teeth aren't as visible as top teeth, and he said for aesthetic purposes till then we would have the option of doing two fake teeth in a retainer.

I am so grateful we live in this time of amazing medical advancements, and know that they will be able to "fix" this for Aaron as he gets older, but I can't help but hurt for this little boy to have to deal with this.  I worry about him daily as I send him off to school, hoping that other children will be nice to him and be understanding.  I hate that he now has one more thing different about him.  I know that we are given challenges in this life to overcome and become stronger, but when it happens to your children, you just want to take it away and make it easier for them.  This little boy of mine is so incredibly special and is going to do amazing things in this life.  I trust that the challenges he has to overcome in his youth will make him stronger, more caring toward others, and give him the character to overcome even greater challenges as he encounters them.  I love this little boy with all my heart and am so honored to be his mother.