Say "AHHH!"...wait, what?!

Took the Crack Monkeys to the dentist today. Total anxiety about it the whole morning because Scott is in California on a business trip. Which means crazy mom plus four Crack Monkeys at the dentist isn't a good idea.

Well, in my mind, anyway.

I envisioned whining and reluctance as soon as we got into the car, and maybe a little hysterical crying from the princess because she gets really nervous whenever we get near the dentist's office (sidenote: the kids' dentist is in a building in the parking lot of Target, which we shop often at; whenever we pull into the parking lot, Vanessa will ask, "Are you taking me to the dentist?!").

The kids, however, behaved perfectly and eagerly fol,lowed the assistants when they were called back. It was quite the smooth visit.

Well, sort of.

Because of Scott's job change, we switched health insurance. And, although I was really excited when we were signed up for dental (100% coverage on exams and cleanings, wahoo!), we found out Scott missed reading an important clause: kids 7.5 years and up aren't covered when seeing a pediatric dentist. If we insist on taking them to our current pediatric dentist, we have to get a referral from a general dentist first.

So we have to pay for Ryan and Ethan's exams, cleanings and x-rays, because they're older than the cut-off date. If we can get a referral before they submit the claims, then it'll be covered.

I am so confused.

First of all, why is the cut-off at 7.5 years old? Why the half? Second, they're still kids, so wouldn't it make sense to send them to a pediatric dentist instead of a general one? Isn't that why there are pediatric dentists? Because they specialize in children? Third....never mind, I can't think about this anymore because my head hurts!

Besides the aforementioned snafu, the kids' check-ups were good: Ryan, as usual, has the perfect mouth with no cavities or potential problems. Ethan has a giant cavity on one of his upper molars that the dentist recommended having pulled since it's not his adult teeth and will be coming out soon, but it's the only one and he had almost non-existent plaque; his teeth are also growing in nice and evenly spaced. Vanessa has no cavities, but a tooth is coming in sideways because her two front teeth refuse to come out. The dentist is concerned that these teeth haven't come out, despite the four bottom ones already being gone. He took an x-ray and it showed the two teeth basically blocking the ones that are trying to come in. Jeff has no cavities and the dentist and assistant were really impressed with how well he did during the exam and cleaning; wasn't scared, no crying or complaining, just content with watching Cars while the dentist did his thing.

So I'll admit that my kids surprised me and proved me wrong; I'll let it slide this one time. At least Scott didn't have to calm me down when I called him later to report. ;-)

P.S.-- The dentist has an ocean theme (think "Finding Nemo") so he has a treasure chest filled with small prizes that his patients can choose after their appointments. Jeff took a few minutes before finally picking....a plastic pirate's hook! As soon as I opened it, he ran to show his brothers, all the while exclaiming, "ARRR! ARRRR!" It was hilarious! ^_^