Be Careful What You Wish For

EDIT: THERE IS ADDITIONAL INFO AT THE END OF THIS ORIGINAL POST -


A while back, probably closer to the beginning of the school year, I blogged about So's growing concern over her lack of tooth loss.

She was desperate for any sign of a loose tooth, constantly wiggling her finger against her tooth and exclaiming,
"it's loose, it's loose".

Being that her birthday is in September, she is one of the younger one's in her class. Many of her classmates have already turned seven and they are already the proud bearers of adult teeth.

So still walks around, spending moments every day, testing her teeth for any sign of impending loss.

We have had a couple of close calls,
some accidental collisions of two heads,
a few walks into a wall,
hyper, joy jumping too close to a light fixture,
all resulting in some blood loss in a tooth area.

But those dang things are made of steel.

I inappropriately joked about how it might be a loving gesture if I punched my daughter in the mouth.
(Don't go calling children's services, I would never.)

Now So notices Kindergarten kids proudly walking around with their smarmy toothless grins. And I am just eagerly waiting for the moment that Ro wakes up declaring a loose tooth is upon us and it does not belong to her older, inpatient sister So.

But, only a few days ago - this all changed.

Thanks to my husband's genetic crappy teeth donation to So's gene pool, a "pulp expulsion" a year ago was not enough to save a tooth.

(I will insert here, that as much as I love my husband and his family, it was only because of my MIL and hubby and his brothers that we finally got Dental insurance. I am proud to say, that I do NOT have one filling in my adult teeth and had very few in my baby teeth. Damn, cavity loving genetics...)

I brush my kids teeth for them. Yes - I do. Because I do not believe my almost seven year old and five year old will do a good enough job themselves. Now, you might argue that they have crappy teeth because their mother is lousy at brushing their teeth. But I beg to differ. I get every inch, at least two - three times a day. I bought special flossing sticks so they might have an easier time getting the hard to reach areas. I am totally on top of the tooth crisis in my home.

But this one poor tooth...

Last week, So and Ro had a dentist appointment. Each had one more small cavity that needed filling. (I could deal with this, they are candy loving baby teeth.)

But then the Dentist called me over. It is never a good sign when you get the ol' "call over".

Apparently, So's tooth, the one that had the pulp expulsion (which is just shy of a root canal) did not make it. The cavity infected the jaw bone and the tooth now needed to be pulled.

I left her office with my head hung low, awaiting the next appointment for cavity filling and teeth pulling, and wondering what the best way would be to break this news to So.

I did not tell her until the morning of the tooth extraction.

"Ummm So."

"What Mommy?"

"C'mere, gotta tell you something."

"What Mommy?"

"Uhh, well, we won't only be having a cavity filled today..."

"Why, what else are we doing?"

"Remember that tooth last time, the one that needed extra work?"

"Yes..."

"Well, it did not work so well."

"So what do we do?"

"Well... So.... uhhh...I think ... uhh ... it needs to be pulled out."

"What?"

(waiting for the crying)

"I need my tooth pulled?"

(anticipating the tears)

"The dentist is going to take it out?"

(here it comes)

"I won't have a tooth there anymore?"

(waiting for it... waiting for it...)

"YIPPEEEEEEEEEE! I AM GOING TO LOSE A TOOTH!!! YAY! YAY!"

"It's okay S..... Huh? Why are you doing your hyper joy jumping?"

(Seriously, I was certain all her excitement would cause the tooth to extract itself.)

"Wait, can I still put this tooth under my pillow? Will the tooth fairy give me a dollar?"

"Wha? I... guess. Well, I mean - a dollar? Sheesh - inflation. I don't know, the tooth fairy may be another victim of the economy, and... well ....maybe."

"THEN - YAY! YAY! I WILL FINALLY LOSE A TOOTH!"

I don't remember her being this excited since she had her tonsils removed. She probably would have put tonsils under her pillow as well, if she thought there was a tonsil fairy.

Well, the bottom line is ... So finally lost a tooth. Maybe not the way she really would have hoped. We shall see how excited she is to have a metal spacer put in until she is about nine or ten, so the adult tooth has space to come in.



And not only did So lose a tooth, she is probably the only one of her friends who can say, she lost it with the root attached.

So, your wish has been granted.


EDITED MATERIAL:

It seems I failed to mention the extent of So's excitement over the loss of her tooth.



After So had her tooth removed, she woke at 6:00 AM and found the tooth gone and a dollar under her pillow and quickly decided to throw open my door and express VERBOSELY, her excitement. But it did not end there.



Later that day I received a call from a friend who "DELICATELY" (her words exactly) let me know that her phone rang at 6:30 AM and a certain six and a half year old child who weighs one tooth less was requesting to speak to her 7 year old friend at that residence. My friend "DELICATELY" informed this caller that not everyone wakes at the crack of dawn and her daughter would call her later.



Needless to say, I had a serious talk with So about "proper phone usage" and also how, sunrise should not determine her moment of arousal. She will no longer be making phone calls at 6:30 AM.



(How was that Adina?)