Now Onto Their Teeth...

First picture is of Rachel's top jaw mold (the one on the left side is last July, Rt side is last month), Second pic is Rachel's lower jaw (Lf side is last July, RT side yesterday)
Third pic is Rachel's Twin Blocks note the metal screws),
Fourth pic is Jimmy's x-ray of his molars,
Fifth pic is Jessica in her braces.
First let me say I absolutely LOVE our dentist, Dr. Parrigin & his asst. Julie. They have been so wonderful this last year & 1/2 with our kids. All 3 kids inherited Matt's dental issues (jaw too small for teeth, etc.), and it was really becoming noticeable when Jessi started losing baby teeth & getting her adult ones in. She had a pretty severe overbite & open bite (her front teeth didn't touch when closed). Jimmy had a "shark tooth" where one tooth grew in completely behind the others - no space there at all! Rachel looked fine since she hadn't lost any teeth yet, but looking at her x-rays showed a different story - she had a crossbite & her jaw was way too small, and I can't remember everything else. Anyway, I had talked to several dentists & orthodontists asking each about an appliance I found out about that spread their jaws apart slowly - but it had to be done before a certain age while their jaws are still malleable. Well, every one I spoke to either didn't know what I was talking about or didn't care & told me to wait until their adult teeth come in & get braces. I was so frustrated because Matt has so many problems (TMJ for one) because of his jaw & I don't want our kids to go through that. Then I found Dr. Parrigin through a friend's referral.
"Twin Blocks" are what they're called and they are custom made to suit each kid - they also get to choose their own color & a design. As you can see from Rachel's they have screws in them that we have to turn once a week or however often the dentist tells us to, which slowly spreads their jaws. Jessica & Jimmy have a bar in front that keeps their teeth growing downward, and Jessica & Rachel have a ball to play with on the back of theirs to train their tongue to stay in the back of their mouths instead of thrusting them forward.
Jessica had her "Twin Blocks" until 2 months ago and yesterday she got her braces - she is very excited & a little sore.
Jimmy still has his because we are waiting for his molars to start growing in to have an anchor for braces. Dr. Parrigin took x-rays of his molars & as you can see from the picture of his x-ray his adult molars are growing in wrong (sideways) so next month he's getting all 4 babies pulled in hopes that the adults will fall into place, otherwise he'll have to have his gums cut & the teeth surgically pulled down - OUCH!
Rachel is going without anything for a while to see how her teeth settle & what she will need next.