F.U.D.

Some of you may not know. FUD stands for "Full Upper Denture." Last Friday Caleb got his teeth. I always knew the day was coming....but I never thought it'd actually get here. Over the past 2 weeks, I've been taking Caleb into the office on my day off (Friday). The first week we got impressions. Which is never fun no matter WHO the patient is. This patient is 4 years old. And he did surprisingly well. We did the lower impression first. No problem. He just sat there while that stuff stiffened up. But then we had to do the upper impression. I know how he felt. He had to feel like that stuff was going down his throat. We practiced breathing through his nose before starting. And actually especially while we did the lower impression. Even so, after about 10 seconds he started crying. There wasn't anything we could do either. I was holding Angie....who would run off and terrorize if I let her go to wipe his tears. So Dr. Thompson held those trays in his mouth, and he just sat there and cried. Jenny wiped his tears while he sat there. Luckily he never actually struggled. Just cried. It was kinda sad. But it didn't last long.

The next week, we had the upper teet ready in wax. He tried it on to make sure it fit. It did. This set of upper teeth is unique. Originally we thought he'd have partials (partial denture) on both arches. But the guy at the Denture Center thought it might work better if we over-lay the 2 teeth he has on top. So his upper teeth is actually a Full Upper Denture, not a partial. However, I am trying really hard not to call it a denture around him. I think the word "denture" has a sort of stigma to it. So we'll call it his flipper, or his teeth.

Then, last friday we had the finished product. He tried them in, and we showed him how to put them in and take them out by himself. Within no time, he was popping them in and out. He'd say, "Mommy! Look at my new teeth!!" Then he'd put them back in. When we got home, I had him try to eat with them in. Not as successful as I was hoping for. They didn't stay in well at all. We have to use fixodent to hold them in properly. But after taking his first bite (bread) it stuck to his palate and he wanted to pull them out to clean them off. I encouraged him to just eat slowly, and swallow slowly. (He must feel like is mouth is allready full with those things in there). But ultimately, he wanted to take them out to eat. So I let him. I wasn't gonna push it. The last thing I want is for him to resent wearing those. We'll take it slow. From that time on I decided that I would have him chew with his teeth, but not bite yet. Without the bottom teeth, biting still doesn't work very well. So I'll still cut up his food....and he can just practice chewing. He'll get the lower teeth in a week or two, depending on how long it takes him to get used to the top. So far, he's been wearing them for 45 minutes to an hour about twice a day. Baby steps.

One other thing....he doesn't talk very well with his teeth in. I have been encouraging him to speak slowly and hopefully he'll start to articulate a little better.

These pictures don't really do justice. He doesn't really know how to smile correctly. He kinda jutts his jaw to one side to smile. Maybe he just needs to spend some time in front of the mirror. ;) He'll get it. I'd say they really do look pretty good. If you inspect them closely....they do look a little un-natural. But not NEARLY as un-natural as just the two canines pointing down. I think he's gonna do well with them. I hope.

I also took a little video of me talking to him on the first day after he got his teeth. Enjoy.

We're so proud of Caleb. I never would have dreamed that we'd be able to get his teeth made at such a young age. He's such a good little boy. And now hopefully we can get him used to wearing them before he starts school in September. Congratulations Caleb.