Hǎo háizi, and other adventures in dental care

Hǎo háizi, Emma!


Emma Kate was knit together so beautifully by her Father.  Fashioned beautifully and delightfully.  She is lovely.


According to our dental surgeon, Dr. King, the Lord had some fairly amazing things in store when he made her dear mouth.  While what Dr. King explained as a "tornado" caused bi-lateral clefting of her lip and her palate, the Lord gave her the ability to produce a great deal of tartar and calculus.  


Not math.  Calcium build up.  On her teeth.


This sounds like something a person would NOT want.  And while that is true, because it is unsightly and looks a great deal like decay, in Emma Kate's case, it saved and preserved her teeth!


Our daughter has beautiful white teeth.  Each one like a little pearl set in her mouth.  They are sparkling and shining, shimmering.  She keeps running her tongue over them.  


All that build-up prevented her teeth from decaying.  Dr. King found not a single cavity.  


You read that correctly: no cavities!


And it was apparent he was as stunned as we were upon receiving the news from him.  He said the x-rays showed no decay.  And he said it in wonder, just as we received it!  There was nothing for him to do save, "shave layers and layers of calcification" off her teeth.  It was a simple clean-up job, in his final analysis!


Wow.  I'm smiling just thinking about it.  I'm sure it isn't often that the recovery room has joyful, amazed laughter bubbling out from the closed curtains.  A blessed noise.  


We are now snuggled up with Emma's pink Emma blanket (which accompanied her to surgery, recovery and home again- thank you Jenn and Kris!) on the couch in the familyroom with the fire blazing, Swede napping in front of the hearth, lunch eaten and ibuprofen administered.


Inside, I am shouting for joy.  Smiling in relief.  Humming for the goodness of this day and the beauty of seeing the Lord bring Himself faithful again, able and awesome.  


Jim dashed back to work for afternoon meetings, and now we just await the arrival home of the big boys, and then fresh from a day of meal-making for "Feed our Starving Children/Impact Lives" the littler set (don't tell Luke I called him that!).  


Who would ever rejoice in tartar?  Us, apparently!  


Michele, I call this a glimpse at one of those questions we won't need now to ask when the world is finally and fully redeemed and we learn why, oh, why the mosquito.   


Tartar.  Calcification.  Saving graces in the mouth of my daughter this day.