the bad side of genetics
For the most part, I lost out in the gene pool wars when it comes to our kids. Almost everyone agrees that physically, our kids take after landisdad & his family way more than they do me and mine. In fact, we have a picture of my MIL at 5 years old that is the spitting image of the Bee.
But there are some things that seem to have come down from my side of the family. They just aren’t necessarily the things that I would have chosen to pass on, if I could have avoided it.
For example? the Bee has the worst qualities of my parents’ teeth.
I really wish that hadn’t happened.
My dad has perfectly straight teeth, which are predisposed to getting cavities. My mom has terribly crooked teeth, which are fairly tough. The Bee seems to have ended up with the worst of both genes. Yesterday, landisdad had to take her to the dentist, because she got a cavity filled a few weeks ago, and now has developed a huge lump in her gum. You got it. Abscess (do abscess and cesspool have a common root? because yuck!) . My poor baby! Now we have to take her for an extraction next week. She hasn’t even lost a baby tooth yet, and she’s already having them yanked!
In addition to that, when she got her baby teeth as a baby, two of her front lower teeth were fused together into one. So now that she’s getting her adult teeth, the lower ones are all crooked. Yes, she’s six years old, and I’m already saving up for braces.
Bumblebee Sweet Potato 
The Tooth is Out There « Bumblebee Sweet Potato replied:
[…] For weeks, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the loss of the first baby tooth in our house. There’s been a lot of wiggling of a certain lower front tooth, but I was starting to worry that the Bee’s first lost tooth was going to be the incisor that she’s having extracted tomorrow. In fact, we had a whole conversation before bed tonight about how, if the tooth came out in the middle of the night, the Tooth Fairy might already have been to our house, and might not notice it until tomorrow. We had fun naming the various other states and countries she might be visiting–Grandma in Paris! the twin cousins in Japan! But not to worry. […]
August 29, 2006 at 3:09 pm. Permalink.
Jessica replied:
Ugh – poor Bee! I had a bad underbite that I inherited from my grandpa. Unfortunately, both girls have inherited it. Abby got a retainer when she was about 6 1/2 to push her two front teeth forward to help fix the underbite. It worked great. Unfortunately, insurance companies don’t generally pay for orthodontia at that young an age even though it’s better to get it done young because it works faster since their palate isn’t fully closed yet and the jaw bones are apparently softer. Anyway, it was worth it and we’ll do the same for Meredith in a couple years. I had braces for SIX YEARS as a teen and it sucked.
December 12, 2006 at 4:46 pm. Permalink.
Leggy replied:
Ugh- as I am currently going through my own dental horrors right now (braces come on Monday), I can totally sympathize with Bee.
December 12, 2006 at 4:46 pm. Permalink.
Sandra replied:
Dental problems in kids suck so bad. I sympathize, since my son was born with cleft palate and has a lifetime of dental ordeals ahead of him. It’s amazing how many kids wear braces now, isn’t it? It seems much more common, and they go on so much earlier. I hope your daughter’s procedure is not too traumatic for her (and you!). Dentistry does seem gentler nowadays, so maybe it won’t be as bad as it sounds (but I’d be worried about it too). Good luck.
December 12, 2006 at 4:48 pm. Permalink.
Suzanne replied:
Poor girl (and, need I say it, poor mom and dad?)! This kind of work would make me freak out even now.
December 12, 2006 at 4:49 pm. Permalink.
Comfort Addict replied:
I’m so sorry to hear about the Bee’s dental problems. When you mentioned that you had lost out in the gene pool, you spoke of physical traits. What about character and personality? I’m curious.
December 12, 2006 at 4:50 pm. Permalink.
elise replied:
Just a heads up on something if she has a small mouth. My kids had obvious, severe crowding so I brought them in as soon as their adult teeth started coming in and they put an “appliance” in – like a palate expander at a young age because like another commenter said, the palate is not yet fused (like the skull in a baby) so they take advantage of this when they are young. If you wait, they either have to break it to unfuse it or pull permanent teeth to make room. Just so you know to make your decision sooner rather than later. We are now on the braces phase with the older two and looking at the crowding and other problems in my youngest and just going into denial for another couple of months….Hee hee!
December 12, 2006 at 4:51 pm. Permalink.
chip replied:
yikes that’s scary. My kids so far have good teeth — no cavities — but severe crowding, so CB is in braces and just last week the dentist said BK should also see the orthodontist because of crowding… Fortunately we have very cool dentists.
December 12, 2006 at 4:52 pm. Permalink.
PapaCool replied:
Genetics is like that – lose a few early – win a few later in life!
December 12, 2006 at 4:52 pm. Permalink.
Whizi replied:
I’m 26 and have lost 5 teeth at my age, one of them due to weak structure which fell out at age 18. The other 4 I have lost very horribly, wisdom teeth of course, my problem was unique even though it might be considered somewhat minor from a surgeons point of view. I had literally cracked all 4 of wisdom teeth, took me 5 trips to the same dentist who finally told me I had to get all 4 teeth surgically removed. I decided to change dentists before jumping to conclusions, the last dentist told me I needed them out on the first trip. At the surgeons office I was told “you must have gone through a troublesome time” as the dude played around with what I had left, moral of the story. Genetics is the major factor in tooth loss, but main problem people don’t seem to tackle is bad habits I know I was there for as far back as I can remember it I have consumed enough pop for a life time. That alone only increased my chances of tooth decay and in my particular case thats exactly what happened, what I would like to say to those struggling with teeth/gum related problems. It is a never ending battle, but just because theres no permanent cure for it you can still take preventative measures and reduce the risks of developing serious problems. Our gums hold micro organisms when they are introduced to foreign substances or anything that carries acid it changes the protein structures that the living cells in our mouths are there to protect, acidity eats away at tooth enamel which eventually leads to tooth decay and even gingivitis (which is a disease btw). The risk for smokers is three times worse than those that don’t, I think it’s fair to say you don’t want your tomb stone to read “died from mouth cancer” yes that is one of many worse ways to die as far as cancers go. The simple truth is even modern dentistry can only go so far we still as species lack the ability to replace lost teeth (aside from surgical operations) there is a sciences in the works but that all depends on how long it will take or if we may even be around to see it in our generation. The problem lies at the genetic level, so only genetics can reverse the problem to begin with something that simply not possible through dentistry.
June 1, 2008 at 10:01 am. Permalink.
BBSP at five years « Bumblebee Sweet Potato replied:
[…] #10–The Bad Side of Genetics. Not really sure about this one. I was actually surprised to see that it made the top ten. I think it must be the thing about fused baby teeth–I get a couple of searches a week for that term. […]
February 1, 2010 at 8:07 am. Permalink.