some patient snapshots:

mom comes in with five of six kids all under age 7. lone girl wearing sundress. two boys wearing shorts, no shirt. one boy wearing shirt and diaper, no pants. and finally baby in stroller just wearing diaper. good thing we don't have a 'no shirt no service sign'. never seen a 'no pants no service' sign. it's been really humid in philly these days. these kids kinda reminded me of the kids in west africa who would be running around naked when it was laundry day.

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today, notified pudgy pre-teen that he had cavities. he reflected for a moment, then responded with, "i think i know why. i get the munchies at night and have been chewing gum instead of snacking."
omg. so cute!
hahaha. he got the munchies. hahaha.
sad ending: his mom came and he informed her that he had cavities. she scolded him with a "no more candy for you!"
then, i said, "the bright side is that we can fill them, which is better than root canals or pulling them. and he needs to switch to sugar-free gum."
exasperated she replied, "i buy him sugar-free gum! but he sneaks in the other stuff!" (referring to bubblicious).
i tried to help the kid out, "well, at least he's chewing gum instead of constantly eating, because that wouldn't be good for his overall health."
then mom chided, "yeah! he's trying to lose some weight."
then, i gave up.

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i'm chatting with big brother about flossing. little sister walks by and says, "hey! psst!"
and then big brother answers, "what?"
and then she goes, "you suck!" and walks away.
then big brother looks at me, whimpers and complains, "she's so mean to me!"
little sister wins! (finally!)
but i have a milligram of sympathy for big brother. then say, "i'm sorry to hear that." and then ask if he's nice to his younger siblings. then he goes, "yeah! sure! of course, i bother them all the time. but that's like any normal big brother."
A-HA! i don't know why big brother thinks that's "NORMAL". because bother will only lead to retaliation.

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last one for the day: two brothers 3 and 4 came with dad, who has tattoos on his entire upper body. they are both wearing different kinds of spiderman tees, bald, stocky, and tough. haha. precious! the older one was in the chair. and dad was giving him some instructions, like "no more candy for you!" or something. and then he lifts up his arms, palms face up and shoots a spiderweb at his dad. ahahaha. so i'm like, "dude! you can't do that to yer dad!" the kid grins and laughs his evil laugh. muhahaha.