Several months ago, Lauren had a run in with her cousin's head and knocked her mouth and tooth pretty good. We called the dentist and were told it might turn a little grey, it might feel a bit loose and to call if anything else appeared. Well, all went fine as told, it turned a bit grey, it felt a bit loose, but no other problems... until now. IT was my weekend to work, I hadn't spent much time with the kids, but happened to be talking to Lauren and noticed that her lip and mouth were swollen like she had a fat lip. I asked her if she had fallen or hurt herself---no, no she said, but last night my tooth was hurting and I was crying for you. I tried to touch it and she jumped away. I immediately was concerned, but had to head to work and had Dan call the dentist. After explaining the story and details, the dentist said it sounded like an abscessed tooth and wanted us to get her on antibiotics right away and to call in the morning. By the next morning, Lauren's face on the left side was swollen up into her cheek and both eyes looked swollen and puffy. She had a HUGE fat lip and looked like a little monkey! We got her in to the dentist, they inspected it, did x-rays and sure enough--abscessed tooth. We had to do antibiotics for a week, then the tooth had to come out! The antibiotics worked, the swelling went down and we headed in to get a tooth pulled. I was sooooo nervous. I had heard horror stories about how bad it was for little kids--like hearing them yell way out in the waiting room. I debated asking about getting some laughing gas for her. I didn't want her to be so traumatized from the whole ordeal and never want to step foot into a dentist office again. At this point, my kids like the dentist--mostly b/c of the prizes they always get to pick after their appt, but needless to say, the dentist is just no big deal. In the end, I didn't get gas for her, but it ended up being just fine. She did amazing! Not even one tear or whimper or grimace. A little numbing rub on stuff, three shots and a little pulling and it was done! I couldn't believe it! I think I would have cried a little.
So my now 5 year old is missing her first tooth. She was soooo excited! She took it to preschool to show off and then put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. She had been talking non-stop about what she was going to buy with her dollar from the tooth fairy. The very next day, we HAD to go to a store! And since it WAS just a dollar, Dollar General seemed her best best. But a dollar seems like sooo much when you are five. We ended up spending about 45 minutes in the store while she changed her mind a million times--there was just sooo much to pick from- it was sooo hard. In the end, she picked a little chick that you wind up and it hops around.
