After driving for two hours to get to Springfield for Seth's neurology appointment, and doing a bit of shopping, we were hungry and ready to eat. Into our favorite fast food restaurant we went. Panera Bread. Notice I said fast food, not junk food! Panera is one of the best places a person could eat out quickly. I ordered our favorites, Mediterranean sandwich and Garden Vegetable soup with a salad, hunk of sourdough bread and chips. As I was quietly eating, taking in my surroundings, I looked up and imagined I saw an empty place in Seth's mouth. An area that appeared dark. I went about eating once again oblivious to the fact at hand until it was time to move along to the Doc's office.

I grabbed a napkin so I could wipe off Seth's mouth when reality set in. There was an empty whole in Seth's mouth! Oh, no!!! Seth, where did your tooth go??? I was incredulous! This did not look good! I could just imagine all the places yet to go to this day, and the stares I would get! I hunted around and came to the conclusion he must have eaten it along with his sandwich. "Seth, did you feel anything hard in your mouth? Did you crunch on something?" I asked, pleadingly.

"Maybe." Was his unobtrusive reply. He was full and content so didn't have a care in the world at the moment. All I could see was this gaping area with half a tooth broke off.

Lest you think he just has weak teeth and how could such a thing happen, let me take you back a number of years. One pleasant day, as all was going well, suddenly Seth let out a scream and lept forward out of his green plastic chair he was sitting on out at the back patio. It was not a pretty sight that followed. He had had a seizure and went face forward onto the cement. What a mess. I will spare the details, but when all was said and done, his front teeth were loose, I could place them where I wanted to,(no braces for him now!) I think he broke his nose by the amount of blood and two teeth were chipped, one being the very front tooth broke in half. This did not happen once, but twice in his little life. Of course, I was horrified!

Soon we were able to get him into the dentist who nicely filled in the area. He had to refill it four times over the years. Each time I was told it was only temporary and that Seth probably needed to have crowns put on his teeth. I was not ready for that. Seth was not ready for that. The first major dentist we were referred to gave an exorbitant estimate. We were told he would have to be put out under anesthesia and that this would have to take place in a hospital, so, you can imagine the cost involved with no insurance on his teeth. What if he fell again? Yikes! Seth had had some minor dental work done on a filling and the novocaine threw him into a seizure tizzy for six weeks. I did not want to go through that again!

So here I sat, pondering what to do. I called a dental office. The secretary was blah and uninteresting in her discussion. She was vague and unanswering. I have learned over the years to pay attention to the upfront desk person. I believe that their attitude reflects the upper echelon. In this case, the dentist. I had no reference, yet I made the appointment with apprehension. I talked to my husband and he had an idea. He talked to a friend whose wife had some major dental work done in a nearby town. They highly recommended a different dentist. He happened to be practically next door to the previous one.

I was pleasantly happy at the response of my phone call to this office. Extremely friendly, answered my questions without hesitation and good manners. Hospitality plus! This place sounded like a winner!

Was it? What kind of a "winner" did we have here? Would they do a good job on Seth's front teeth? How would Seth do? A root canal??? Those things have really scared me. Would the dentist be patient? How will he rate?
Stay with me and my next post will reveal the answers to these questions!

Do you ever wonder if you will always feel stressed out over Autism? Do you ever wonder if you will ever get used to it? There always seems to be something you can worry over. Is it worth it? Are we really on our own with this whole fiasco?

Until Next Time,
Ponder these questions and anticipate the results! You may get surprised!
Nancy Lynne!