Another Milestone

The first "real" trip to the dentist...


Brianna had a visit with a dentist at the beginning of the year. She had bumped her front tooth on the rocking chair in the living room a week before Christmas doing her "dancing spins". I was home at the time and there was screaming again for about the third time that night. I didn't race in because I just figured it was another scuffle between the kids and I was in the middle of cleaning the sink. I asked what was wrong as Bree went racing by the bathroom with blood on her hands. I examined her tooth and I thought she almost knocked it out. It was still in but it did wiggle. At firmed up again in the next day or two but I was still scared that it was too far gone and it would die. Christmas Eve came and the kids were running around as usual and Aidan did an abrupt 180 right in front of Bree whose mouth was of course even with his forehead. Another good whack on the same tooth reinjuring it. Of course now it just kept getting darker and we had to figure out what we needed to do.

( Can you tell how dark the tooth was getting from this picture? I know it is hard to see but it was dark! This is mid-January.)

We made an appointment with a Pediatric Dentist in Green Bay the first week of January. She did a cleaning, xrays, and exam (the first complete dentist visit she has had). Bree was not exactly what you would call the perfect patient. It started with the x-rays...bad thing to start with. She was so upset with having to have those bite wings in her mouth that it went downhill from there. I can't really blame her on the bite wings though. I hate those things in my mouth. Anyway, she was pretty upset about the noise from the cleaning but we got through it. Luckily they had chocolate flavored toothpaste. They said to watch the tooth and come back in a month or so to check it again. In the meantime if the gum started to look red or infected the tooth would have to be removed. That wasn't all of the good news, she had cavities. Yes that was cavities, three to be exact. Sigh. One was very small however but that was small consulation. We had to come back to check on the tooth so we just picked a date to do both.

By mid January the tooth was still dark and had seemed to get even darker than when we were at the dentist a couple of weeks prior. I thought for sure she would end up with an extraction when we went back down. I was already dreading the fillings but an extraction on top of it, I thought I would never be able to get her in a dental office again. Unbelievably by the end of the month the tooth looked like it was lightening. At first I thought I was imagining it but it really was getting lighter. What a relief. Answered prayers. Anyway I was feeling a little better about the "dying" tooth but still dreading the fillings. I was hoping it would go a little better than last time because there wouldn't be any xrays.

Bruce and I went down to the dentist on Feb 5 for her appointment. The dentist did say we could bring a set of headphones and music for her to listen too while she was working on her teeth. I hoped that would help with her sensitivity to the sound of the drill. We both sat on the edge of our seats the entire time she was in there. They don't let parents in when they are going to be working on the kids teeth because the kids usually act up more when a parent is present. We didnt hear any screaming coming from the back room so we were wondering if the room was sound proof or if she was doing well. It was a looonngg half hour. We finally saw her emerge and give the assistant a high five. Bruce and I started to breathe again. The assistant came out and said she did just wonderful and she only whined for a couple of minutes at the beginning and was great after that. They filled the two on the one side. The small one on the other side they filled but they didn't even have to numb it was so close to the surface. They said the front tooth looked good but to continue to watch it in case it gets dark again or it looks infected. Bree was pretty happy with the tatoos and stickers. On the way home we asked her how she liked the dentist. She said it was fun. What a relief.....although that thought may not last very long.

Not exactly a milestone we wanted to achieve but Brianna got her first fillings.

As an update, Bree's front tooth is just a shade or two darker than her other teeth now with no signs of infection. I am grateful that God decided to let her keep her tooth...for now. I am sure she will have a gaping hole there in a couple of years. :)