niknotes: Jack had a dentist's appointment this morning at 8:00. He was extremely well behaved, and his teeth look great. Dr. Malkiel suggested a consultation with an orthodontist just to observe the development of Jack's teeth and jaws to catch any trouble as early as possible when the least drastic measures may be used to correct any crowding or worse problems. It's not a rush. But he says between the ages of 8 and 12, an orthodontist can spot potential problem areas and suggest a course of action, which may just be to monitor those areas as they develop further. A couple of Jack's new teeth have come in slightly diagonally (as far as their rotation, not the angle they hang down or stick up, if that makes sense the way I've put it -- because the width of the space available between the two existing teeth was slightly narrower than the new tooth) so that if his jaws keep up with the growth, the teeth should spread out for plenty of room. But if his jaw growth lags behind, an orthodontist might suggest some minor ... "interference" wasn't the word ... interloping wasn't it ... intervention! I think that was what Dr. Malkiel called it. So braces can be avoided in many cases where they would later become necessary or even more severe intervention, such as jaw surgery. He wasn't suggesting that Jack would require any intervention -- this is just a new standard preventative measure, along the lines of regular cleanings preventing the need for fillings. And Leandra, our hygienist, showed us a neat trick of looping the floss into a circle and tying with a knot to make it easier for Jack to do his own flossing effectively. We also got some of the disclosing tablets, which I always thought were the coolest thing about the dentist's visit when I was little -- you know the red tablets that show which areas were neglected during a brushing. So Jack is looking forward to using those -- after he takes them to Show and Tell on Friday.