Monday was a trying day for our family. Last Wednesday, I had noticed a small chip in one of Little Man’s teeth. By Saturday, half of the enamel was missing! Now, he’s in the middle of teething with his molars preparing to make their grand entrance, so he has been mostly miserable and dealing with the pain and pressure of the teeth trying to erupt. This tooth losing the enamel, it was a game changer. I wasn’t quite sure what had happened, so we gave it the weekend to see what was happening. Let me tell you, what was happening was not good.

Little Man did not want to eat, only wanting to nurse, and nursing every hour (for comfort, mostly). At night, he was sleeping maybe an hour and a half before waking up in pain. He was just completely miserable, and there was nothing we could really do for him. I called the local dentist Monday morning, explaining what had happened. Due to his age, they recommended we take him to a pediatric dentist, and gave us the name of one. I called, and the wonderful woman on the other end was able to get Little Man an emergency appointment an hour and a half later, which gave us time to shower and make the 45 minute drive there.

I have never been to a pediatric dentist; we all used the same dentist growing up in my family. We walked into the office, and there was a climbing area and slide, a video thing in one corner where some kids were jumping around, tablets with games for the older kids, and assorted size seating for kids and adults. Within 5 minutes of walking in, we were called back and Little Man had his first x-ray. Let me tell you, he did not enjoy it. I sat on the chair with an apron, and he sat in my lap with his little apron. I had to hold his hands down with one hand and his head back with the other while the dental assistant stood in front of us and moved the x-ray machine into place. The poor dear was just not having it, being held down. After the x-ray, we walked into an infant exam room. There were some fun toys for Little Man to play with, which he quickly walked over to and started checking out while Squatch and I talked with the dental assistant.

A few minutes later, the dentist came in and we chatted and she did an exam. Little Man sat on my lap, facing me, and I laid him down across my knees and the dentist’s knees. She was so calm and kind with him, and was super quick with the exam. It turned out that the tooth did split, most likely on a small cavity on the back of the tooth, and Little Man’s root and nerve were both exposed. No wonder he had been so miserable all weekend! He has some tiny cavities on 2 of his other teeth, so the dentist recommended we extract the damaged tooth and do a silver diamine treatment on the cavities. I went out to pay the bill and schedule a follow-up while Squatch stayed with Little Man, bringing him to the treatment room. He said they laid Little Man down on a table and wrapped him in a blanket-like papoose, to keep him from wriggling around. Once he gave Little Man to the nurse and she started to wrap him up, Squatch came out to sit with me in the waiting room.

It was so tough, because I could hear Little Man yelling as Squatch walked him to the treatment room, and as they swaddled him up. However, from my childhood experience with lots of medical procedures, I know it was best that Squatch and I not be in the room while it happens. It took all of 10 minutes for the procedure to be done, and the lovely dental assistant came out carrying Little Man, who was just so upset, red-faced, and sweaty. He immediately reached for me, and I gave him a big hug, ignoring the little bit of blood that was dribbling out of his mouth. After the hug, he just wanted to get down and explore, so we let him wander for a bit as Squatch and I talked to the dental assistant and got the care instructions.

We got Little Man’s tooth! I was a bit surprised, and then I remembered the Tooth Fairy. Now, we had previously discussed the Tooth Fairy and what our plans were for Little Man. I was going to pick up a “Pirate Chest” for him for one of his birthdays, where he could keep any treasures he gets. For his first lost tooth and molars, we would like to give him a gold coin, and silver coins for all of the others. I think we will hold off for now, since he is so little, and when he is bigger, around 5 or so, the Tooth Fairy will pay him a visit and maybe he will get 2 gold coins, due to the loss of that first tooth being via extraction when he was so young.

What does your family do for lost teeth? I’ve heard of money (25 cents, $1, etc.), I’ve heard of toys, and I’ve heard of doing something fun (zoo, dinner, etc.). I’m all ears for a fun way to get this going in the future!