Expander Found

I picked Caroline up from school on Friday and she looked surprised to see me but not overly so.  I told her to open her mouth and she said the expander was in her pocket.  Why not in her mouth?  Well, I guess one day of not wearing it will cause your mouth to start going back to its old shape.  She was adamant that she just forgot she put it in her desk and it got pushed back.  We drilled her but she didn't change her story.  It still didn't make sense.  How she could forget that quickly (after school breakfast) that she had taken it out and put it in her desk and then came up with some story about it being at home?  But given the fact of how relieved I was that I wasn't having to pay $268 for a new one, I was less interested in working the details out of her because I don't think she was budging.  She knows how crucial things are with her expander and how much it costs.  She also knows we don't quite trust her right now so there's that too.  If she hadn't been so diligent with it to this point, I'd be more concerned.  Thankfully, I just turned the dials back two turns and it fit back in her mouth.  We'll catch up to where the dentist wants us to be quickly.

The Plot Thickens

On a whim, I emailed Caroline's teacher to see if maybe, just maybe she knew anything about the expander and if she would be willing to glance in Caroline's desk.  I just got an email back from her that she can see it in there in the back.  What.the.heck????

Seriously.

She said she brought it to Caroline's attention and she thanked her because "it costs like a billion dollars" and put it in her backpack.  Why didn't she put it in her mouth?  It supports my theory that something is wrong with it and that was why she was acting weird yesterday morning.  Although now I worry that she'll be adamant that she didn't know it was in her desk.  I can't take any more lies.  I am going to personally be there at her classroom door at dismissal today.  Can't wait to see her face.

File this under "Tween Drama."

Expander Drama

Caroline got her top palatal expander back in September.  She was always very responsible with it and had her top spacing bridge put in back in January (it stays in until she gets braces).  She then transitioned to having a bottom palatal expander which she has also been very responsible with.  She takes it out when she eats, brushes it separately when she brushes her teeth and never leaves it laying around.  She also has had no real issues with this process so far and has actually enjoyed going to see the dentist on a regular basis.  So you can imagine mine and Jason's surprise yesterday upon finding out that her bottom expander had gone missing.

Here's where it gets frustrating....had the story been clear, I would probably be feeling a lot different about things.  Had she said she threw it away at lunch, I would have been upset but I would feel like we knew what actually happened.  Instead, she tells us this story that makes NO sense.  Here's her rendition:

She came down dressed and ready to eat breakfast.  She took it out of her mouth to eat breakfast and laid it next to her bowl like she normally does.  She even remarked that her bright pink expander matched her pink crazy straw that she was using in her juice.   As she was eating her cereal, she started complaining about how COLD she was so she quickly ate and went up to brush her teeth so that she would be ready for the day and could sit under a blanket and watch TV or play on her DS until it was time to go to school.  She said she must have left it laying next to her bowl (which she left on the island and didn't put in the dishwasher).  She came back downstairs and went and sat under a blanket on the couch until it was time to leave not realizing she hadn't put it back in yet.  She says she didn't notice it wasn't in her mouth until after she got to school and was putting her books away.  When my MIL picked her up from school she casually mentioned she thought she left it at home.  She didn't say a word to Jason (met him at the allergist's) until they got home.  When I got home Jason was starting to look around for it.

This makes NO sense.  My MIL never saw it and she is the one who cleaned up the breakfast dishes.  Piper didn't see it.  Bryce says he saw it sitting by her bowl but we're not sure we believe that because he is very impressionable and my MIL doesn't think he was even around at that point to have seen it.  A bright pink expander is not something you miss sitting on a counter top either, especially when we all know what it is and would prefer NOT to touch it.  Yes, we went through the trash (twice) and recycling.  Nothing.

And then you have the weird details that don't add up:

Caroline didn't seem the least bit frantic or worried about it.  She kept saying, "It's just gone." and then would go about playing and acting like nothing was wrong.  She wasn't helping us look nor did she seem remorseful.  Jason says she wouldn't say that it's "gone" unless she really knew it was gone.  She would say it's "lost" or "missing."

We tried offering $10 to anyone that "found" it last night hoping to possibly get Piper to confess if she knew where it was since she is a possible hiding suspect since she's been known to do things like this before, but I truly don't think she knows anything now.

My MIL said it was odd how quickly Caroline went up to  brush her teeth and then came back downstairs and then was hiding under a blanket on the couch - hiding her whole head.  Weird.  This is where I start to get even more suspicious that something happened to it and she is afraid to tell us.  She's always so concerned with how her hair looks and she didn't seem to care yesterday.

When you ask her to tell you the truth she gets super defensive and it's almost like she's faking upset - Jason and I both made that remark.

Something just doesn't add up.  I even emailed her teacher this morning and asked her to glance in Caroline's desk to see if maybe it's in there and she's got it stashed there.   I am highly suspicious that Caroline broke it or did something to it and then had all day to come up with a story.  But then I feel guilty for not believing her because I don't want to think my kid is bold face lying to me

And then you have back in December when she had bronchitis and the doctor put her on an inhaler and medicine that she didn't want to take.  They both magically disappeared one day and we could NOT find them.  Caroline claimed innocence only to have my dad find them later stashed in an old hamper of my mom's.  So she's got a history of being sneaky and not honest with us.

And finally, to had insult to injury, I call the dentist's this morning to find out what the procedure was to get her new one knowing we'd be paying out of pocket for a new device.  $268!!!!  I almost yelled.  I felt like crying.  I knew it wasn't going to be cheap though given how much we're paying for the entire process.  I'm glad Caroline wasn't around when I found out because I need to cool off about it.  (The dentist's office did tell me that there is a possibility that since she was getting close to being done with the expander and getting the bridge on the bottom that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't need a new one, but I'm not holding my breath because those take a few weeks to order and in that time nothing will be holding her bottom jaw where they need it to be.)

Now knowing how much it is, I feel like I am owed the truth.  Jason and I both feel like if she just told us (yesterday) that she had broken it or lost it by throwing it away mistakenly, we would be upset but we would just chalk it up to "it happens" and move on.  I feel like I can't move on because something doesn't make sense.  I've told my kids over and over that lying and dishonesty will get them into way more trouble than the act itself.

So tonight she will be further interrogated and told that she has lost her DS until further notice.  I'd like to just sell the thing and use the money to pay for the new expander.  That's how angry I am right now.  Good thing I won't see her for a few more hours.  $268 could buy me a nice chair for my new living room.  GRRRRR!

Orthodontics, OMG

Caroline had her consult with our dentist who is also an orthodontist.  I really like this guy (my whole family has been going to his practice since we were kids) and I like the practice.  He's about my dad's age and just really personable.  I knew this would be when we found out how much they are going to cost.....all I can say is that we could take another trip to Disney World for the price tag of both phases.  Holy crap.  If your children currently have straight teeth, consider yourself lucky.  This is all new to me though since my siblings and I all were lucky enough to have straight, well spaced teeth.  I have a little crowding on the bottom now but nothing that bad and that's only been as I've become an adult.  Jason's side though, well, I can blame Caroline's genetics on his side.  He and his siblings all had braces.

We've known Caroline would need them for a while now.  I'm pretty sure Bryce got my genes as his teeth are very well spaced already.  Piper though, I think it's the one place you can tell who her father is.  She looks like me but has his mouth.  Sigh.  2 out of 3 is better than all 3, right?

And while the price tag made my stomach hurt, the way they do things now is very different.  Dr. M explained how he learned orthodontics in dental school and how painful it was.  (Pulling teeth and waiting until kids were older - usually 13.)  Now they start them young because they have a better shot at actually changing the bone.  Caroline will start with an expander and then move onto something else (can't remember) and will then only have actual braces for 3-6 months.  I can't remember where he said phase 1 ends and phase 2 begins and that's where we have to figure out some things with our dental insurance. Phase 1 lasts 12-24 months so gone are the days of wearing braces for a few years!

Dental insurance is a little bit of a joke if you didn't know.  Even with "good" insurance it doesn't cover that much.  I carry the insurance now and there is a fairly low lifetime maximum that barely covers half of phase 1 and nothing of phase 2.  We're going to see if we can change to Jason's insurance next year and then she'll be able to be eligible for the lifetime maximum on his insurance so phase 2 is partially covered again.  Here's hoping.


I knew it was going to be expensive, just not like that.  Plus, you pay up front and then all visits and procedures are covered from there, which I like, but it's a big payment up front that we weren't really anticipating.  Whew.  If your kids have straight teeth, thank your lucky stars!