Extracted!

In January when the kids were at the dentist getting their teeth cleaned, the hygienist noted that Peter had a loose tooth. Peter was excited at the thought of finally losing a tooth and we went on our merry way.

About a month ago he said it hurt when he wiggled the lose tooth so I checked his mouth. I could see the very tiny tip top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth.

Hmmmm, that's odd, I thought and we continued on our merry way.

A week ago I checked it again and I could see the whole top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth and the baby tooth was barely moving. And of course, why should it be getting loose? The permanent tooth that was supposed to be growing under it and pushing it out was growing BEHIND it.

Unlike me, Peter thought it was very cool that he had two rows of teeth. "Just like a shark, Mommy! I'm gonna have two rows of teeth just like a shark!"

He was excited but I knew that this wasn't normal so I made an appointment to see the dentist.

Yesterday I picked Peter up from school at 9:00 am and we headed to our appointment. The hygienist took an X-ray and we saw four permanent teeth and all of his baby teeth and it was all very exciting until she asked, "Do you want it pulled today?"

"Ummm, well, ummm, I really just want to talk to the dentist about it first," I stuttered. I knew that it needed to be pulled but I just expected that the dentist would look at it, we would discuss it and then make an appointment for next week.

I had talked to Peter earlier in the week about the possibility of the tooth needing to be pulled and he was nervous about it. But since I wasn't expecting that we would get it pulled that very morning, I hadn't even mentioned to him that it might happen that very morning.

So when the hygienist left I asked Peter if he wanted to get his tooth pulled right then.

"I'm not sure Mommy. Can I have a few minutes to think about it?" he asked with a concerned yet excited look on his face.

"Sure, baby. You have until the dentist comes in to think about it."

Three minutes later she walked in, took at look at the tooth and asked him if he wanted to get it pulled then.

And he shook his head up and down and timidly said yes!

I asked the dentist if he needed a shot but all he needed was a gel anesthesia so I gave her my blessing, signed the release forms, agreed to the cost and the next thing I knew, the dentist had a pair of pliers in Peter's mouth.

She took the pliers out of his mouth and handing them back to the hygienist.

"Is it out? Wow! That was fast!" I excitedly exclaimed.

But no, it wasn't out yet. The pliers were too large for Peter's tiny teeth. She got a smaller pair and the tugging began.

Peter exclaimed, "Owww! Owwww! Owwwwwww!" and started reaching for her hand.

The hygienist and I both lunged (I was a little slower because Sarah was sitting on my lap) and we kept his hands away from the pliers.

In about 10 seconds the baby tooth was out! The extraction was complete!

Peter sat up and two large, hot, wet tears spilled over his lower eye lids and down his cheeks. I also teared up as I wiped them away and I kept proclaiming, "You did great, buddy! You were so brave! What a great job!"

And I meant every word.

As we were checking out, Peter was standing near the door huddled up into himself. His arms were crossed, his head was down and he looked so sad. He looked so tiny and pathetic standing there.

So I did want any good mom would do. I whispered in his ear that since he had been so brave I was taking him to McDonald's for an ice cream sundae before I took him back to school.

And yes, it was only 10:00 am but I didn't care, my baby needed a special treat.

Apparently a McDonald's sundae, lots of hugs from mom and a phone call to dad at work made everything o.k.

He went back to school, showed off his new gap and was my little hero for the rest of the day.
Oh, and apparently the Tooth Fairy brings 5 gold one dollar coins to someone who has had a tooth pulled by the dentist instead of just 2.