Those Pearly Whites

The DFC pays more attention to my son than I do, apparently. At lunch today with Wendy and Hannah, Hannah excitedly squealed (okay, not squealed, but it sounds better that way), "Look! Doodles is getting another tooth!"

"Yeah," I replied (note, I didn't "smirk" or "smile"; I "replied"). "He's teething and one of these days something will come through."

"No, no," Hannah said. "He's got another tooth now. Don't you see it? There's a tiny sliver of white on his upper gum."

I peered into Doodles mouth to no avail. He wouldn't open his upper lip for me. Finally, I just stuck my hand in there and much to his dismay, pulled back his lip to peer into his mouth as if he were a horse at market. Sure enough, the tiniest bit of enamel poked through the gum. How Hannah spotted it across the table, I have no idea, but there you go. The past couple of weeks of midnight screaming finally explained!

Of course the timing of this tooth is not ideal. We got a call from the doctor yesterday with the results of Doodles's blood test (which is standard at the nine month doctor's appointment): Little Doodles is anemic. Now don't get all in a tizzy (this is directed to my family; I'm sure the rest of you are happily tizzy-free right now). This is apparently quite common and one of the main reasons they do a blood test at nine months. From kidshealth.org:

During the first 6 months of life, babies are usually protected against developing iron deficiency due to the stores of iron built up in their bodies while they are in the uterus. However, by the second half of the first year of life, as infants continue to undergo significant growth, often they do not take in enough iron through breast milk alone or regular cow's milk (which contains less iron than fortified infant formula) to meet their iron needs.

Doodles is being treated by diet and an iron supplement. He'll be rechecked in six weeks. So what does this have to do with his pearly whites? Well, they're coming in just in time to be ashen grays. One of the side effects of the supplement he's taking is "temporary discoloration of teeth." Of course, they offer a solution: "For infants, a small amount of baking soda or tooth powder, placed on a small cloth and rubbed on the teeth once a week, will remove discoloration." Have you tried sticking your fingers into a piranha's--I mean, baby's--mouth, never mind with nasty tasting baking soda on your finger? Exactly. However, one of the things that grosses me out more than anything is yucky teeth (perhaps it was the six years I spent in braces that did it to me, but that's a tale for another day) and I know that I shall risk life and index finger to make sure my child's beautiful smile shines. The things I'll do for vanity.