Pulling Teeth

At our last dentist appointment in April, our dentist noticed what Ben and I had known for awhile- Chloe had permanent teeth coming in and her baby teeth were not loose. He suggested that we get a few of her bottom teeth pulled so that her permanent teeth would come in straight (well, straighter). The one permanent tooth that had already broken skin and was half way in was beginning to turn itself sideways, so we thought we had better hurry, especially with my terrible history of 5+ long years of orthodontic work. Any help we could give her predestined crooked teeth the better.

Last Tuesday was the day- Chloe was very excited.

Here is her before shot

Here you can see the big tooth growing in right behind her baby teeth, not making them loose at all.

I was a bit nervous for her at the appointment. They numbed her up really well, but I knew that it might be pretty uncomfortable. And just by watching, I now know where they get the phrase, "It's like pulling teeth to do ___ and ___." Oh my! They twisted those teeth like they were made of rubber, which they are not, I found out as I listened to the twisting and cracking noises. My mouth hurt just watching and I flinched and cringed many times. But Chloe laid in the chair like she was on a sunny beach soaking up rays in the hot summer sun. No clenched fists, no twitching in the chair, not even a blink of the eye. I was impressed. It's not brain surgery, that's for sure, but it did not look like a walk in the park, especially since they had to pull on teeth that were not loose yet.

And when they came out, they were there with all the roots. The permanent teeth usually nibble away at the baby teeth's roots, which makes them loose and helps them fall out. This was not the case with Chloe's teeth, so to see the tooth come out with roots twice the length of the tooth itself was quite a sight.

The after shot from a very excited little girl.

Chloe had 2 bloody little holes in her mouth for a day or two, due to the roots being all in tact. But now there is room for that permanent tooth and it's neighboring sister who has broken skin to come right in to place (or that is what we and our wallets are praying for).

The dentist gave her a little tooth box to put the teeth in so she could safely put the teeth under her pillow for the tooth fairy.

Here they are! Boy that little girl was proud of these two teeth. You would have thought she was carrying around gold rather than 2 extracted pieces of enamel. Those teeth did not leave her hand all evening. She would frequently take them out of their box to "hold" them. She would even let Mitchell hold them for short periods of time, telling him how to hold out his hand and to "shut your hand really fast, like this, so they don't fall. Okay, now put them back, buddy."

She also got to pick out a prize from the prize basket for being so brave. She picked these sun glasses and did not take those off all evening either. She told me a handful of times that she felt like a movie star in them. If it weren't for the bloody holes in her mouth, she would have looked like a movie star, too. (Just kidding).

Lucky for her, the tooth fairy came that night and left her $2 ($1 for each tooth) and even left a note.

And in just the 10 days since her teeth were pulled, that one permanent tooth has already straightened itself out and has come forward into place perfectly (for now). We still have our money placed on an orthodontist, literally, in a few years. But for now we have 2 baby teeth in a little box and one excited little 5 year old.