Jaws, "bite", joints and airways.
It started... well, I suppose it really started when Micah's voice changed and he began a growing phase that has him quickly achieving his projected six feet and three inches in height.
When his legs started to grow, his lower jaw did as well. Our Dentist in Prince Albert broke it to us gently when she told us the boy's mouth would need some major reconstruction later on, and this summer when we stopped in for a cleaning and check-up we asked how soon we should get the oral ball rolling.
Now, she said, would be a good time to start that whole thing.
So, we have found a highly recommended Dentist in Camrose, who referred us to a well respected Orthodontist in Edmonton.
The Edmonton Orthodontist says the work will have to wait until Micah's finished growing- at 19 or 20, and as he's thinking about slowing down, he doesn't want to commit to a patient who won't begin a process for several years, so he is recommending us to a younger, up and coming Ortho-specialist in Camrose.
The down side is that after 18 the boy is no longer a boy, and won't necessarily be covered by our Health Insurance.
The up side is that we have two and a half or three and a half years to start saving for a process that will be the price of a pretty decent new car, and an exceptionally good used one.
The Orthodontist session this morning was very informative, though, and I feel quite a bit more prepared for what's coming. It was good to see all the (incredible!) images of Micah's face, jaw, neck and airways. We got a very clear and comprehensive explanation of what needs to be done and why, and how it will benefit him as an adult.
It was a long day, (partly because I had 30-minute-away-Camrose on the brain when I was making the 8:40 am appointment, and not 1.5-hour- away-Edmonton) but it was an insightful day. It was, all in all, a good day.
The appointment took much longer than I anticipated, and after a couple of quick pit stops and lunch on the way home, we made it back fifteen minutes late for a knitting lesson, which morphed into Pre-Teen Youth and the Bible Study I'm responsible for.
But now I'm home and, for me at least, the day is pretty much done. Randall and Micah have replaced me at the church for the Junior and Senior High Youth meeting, and I'll have the quiet house to myself for two and a half hours.
Exhale.
Bliss.
Wow! It is a huge thing isn't it. The surgeons here tend to do the surgery at a much younger age I think - but maybe not for young men who can grow late.
ReplyDeleteSo glad it is not one of your girls. And that may be a bit sexist but it is the truth.