pediatric dentist

At the Dentist

Turkey had to have two teeth pulled today. We were hoping it would be a quick, low-key appointment…he had two teeth pulled a few years ago during a routine cleaning, and didn’t even require novocaine. They basically just fell right out with a little help.

I guess things are different when the teeth aren’t already loose, because today’s appointment required novocaine (and lots of it!), and nitrous.

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It was…interesting. At one point, Turkey looked at the dental assistant and said, “I feel like I’d normally be scared right now, but for some reason I’m not.” She and I both started laughing…we knew exactly why he was not!

It was a pretty rough appointment, though, because it took so long, and because those teeth really weren’t interested in coming out. Chickadee was very worried about her big brother, which was very sweet. A milkshake on the way home (that Turkey had to eat with a spoon), seemed to help improve things a bit.

Hoping we don’t need a repeat of this procedure any time soon!

Why I’m Thankful for Our Pediatric Dentist

I’ve always really liked our pediatric dentist, but I’ve never been more thankful for how good she is with children than I was today.

I took the children in for their routine cleaning and check-up this morning. I will admit, I’ve been dreading this visit. Turkey has had some crowding issues with his baby teeth/permanent teeth, and he had one baby tooth in particular that I was pretty sure would need to be pulled, both because of the weird angle it had been pushed out at when an adjacent permanent tooth came in, and because it showed no signs of even wiggling a little bit. The children still view going to the dentist as a fun event, (go figure!), and have been looking forward to it all week, and I really didn’t want to ruin that innocence by Turkey having to worry about the follow-up appointment, knowing he’d have to go back for an extraction.

When the hygienist was cleaning his teeth, she noticed the one really loose tooth he’s had since before Christmas, and asked if it bothered him. And it has, if only because it’s been super loose, and yet still refused to come out. So, she told him that if he wanted, the dentist could put some numbing gel on the gum, and just twist it out for him. He was a little apprehensive, but agreed that it sounded like a good idea, and so we decided that we’d just go ahead and do that while we were there.

Well, when the dentist looked at his teeth, she also noticed the oddly-angled one on top. Without letting him know what she was going to do, she told the hygienist that she was going to take that tooth as well, and had her very discreetly get the necessary tools. Before Turkey knew what had happened, she had pulled both teeth–the bottom one was no big deal because it was really ready to come out, but the top one took a little more effort. Still, it was over fast, and Turkey had no time to think about what was happening.

I am so grateful for both the dentist’s discretion, and the fact that she took care of it immediately, saving Turkey from having time to think about and dread going back to the office for a separate appointment for an extraction. Even though he said the procedure did hurt some, he also still thinks that going to the dentist is great fun, and the longer he thinks that, the happier I’ll be!