The Tooth

Yesterday I had to take Rachel to an oral surgeon. She had a molar that never grew in fully, and as her first permanent molar started coming in behind it, it was crowding out her "little tooth," as she liked to call it. The gums were also growing down around it, so it was slowly disappearing. Her dentist, who is very good, decided it would just be safer to have an oral surgeon remove the tooth, so we got up bright and early yesterday to take her in. Rachel was calm and matter of fact about most of it, even though she was thoroughly scared about it. She was so scared about it she wouldn't even talk to Scott about it the night before. But when we got there, she didn't even want me going back into the room with her. I usually don't go back with her at the dentist's office, but this time I insisted. At least until they started anesthesia. They started with the laughing gas, then put in an IV to administer the good stuff. I wasn't there for any of that though. And I certainly wasn't there for the procedure itself. They had to cut away part of the gum to get the darn thing out. They did knock her out completely so she wasn't awake for any of it, but she woke up crying. Her arm hurt from where they'd put in an IV and her lip was numb from the novacane which was a sensation she did not like AT ALL! Apparently it's completely normal for girls to wake up crying. She said even the teenage girls do it. But boys tend to wake up laughing. Go figure. Rachel cried all the way home. Even the doctor ordered milk shake didn't stop her. She just cried as she ate it! Once we got her home, back in her pajamas, and settled in MY bed with the TV on, she finally settled down. So I spent my day tending to her. I'm pretty sure she milked it a little, but mostly she was a hurting and sore little girl. She's back to normal and back to school today, and the tooth fairy brought her $2 instead of the usual $1 for this big and difficult tooth. I have to say, it's much different looking at a molar with all the large roots still attached as opposed to a little baby tooth that fell out naturally. I hope this is the last time we have to do something like this. Overall, not a fun day.

Fizzy Joys: Dental insurance, Russian tang (for when I'm sick, like now), naps, afternoon sunshine, season premiers for favorite shows.