Friday, October 17, 2008

Forsooth! No, actually, forTOOTH!

Kiddo has gone to the dentist faithfully every six months for years now. (Thankfully, she also is cavity-free, woo-hoo!) At her last visit, Kiddo was quite concerned about the possibility of having a loose tooth. Her best friend, who is a few months older, had a wiggly tooth that fell out a few weeks after our trip to the dentist, and more have fallen out since then. The dentist looked at her x-rays (done last November) and informed us that (1) Kiddo isn't likely to have any loose teeth until she is closer to seven years old, based upon the way her adult teeth were progressing in their development, and (2) that she is definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY going to be a candidate for braces when those adult teeth do start appearing.

Somewhat mollified by the fact that we'd have some time before we had to deal with reality (2) since reality (1) was purportedly far off in the future, I have spent the past six months peering admiringly into the mouths of Kiddo's friends and other friends' kids, complimenting the wiggliness of their loose teeth and oohing and aahing over the gaps that were subsequently appearing in their smiles.

Which is why the sight of this:


shocked me into speechlessness (and let's face it, I am very, very rarely at any loss for words) earlier this afternoon. I don't know how long that tooth has been loose, and Kiddo seemed to be as surprised as I was by the discovery. Hubby was the one who noticed, as we were having lunch today (Kiddo had a half day so we drove over to the side of town where Hubby works and met him for lunch as a treat) and Kiddo opened her mouth to take a bite of her fruit salad. He actually saw this:


more than he noticed the actual tooth in front of it being loose all on its own. As soon as I returned from liberally ketchup-ing Kiddo's hot dog, he pointed it out, that monstrosity of an adult tooth crowding on up into view. I was, to say the least, very surprised by the sight.

Yeah, more like totally gobsmacked. My first thought was "Oh, Kiddo bonked herself in the mouth at some point and *knocked* the tooth loose... surely that can't be an adult tooth right there...." but no, there it was, a legitimately loose tooth.

Now, I suffered through over a decade of major orthodontia myself as a child (having that second set of adult teeth, as I did), and I am therefore a relatively experienced judge of impending dental wonkiness. This, my friends, with the ginormous adult tooth jutting up completely behind instead of under the baby tooth? A wonkiness red alert! So, while prediction #1 may've failed, I am fairly certain that the dentist's second prediction is soon going to come true in a big, expensive way. Good thing we've added Kiddo to the dental insurance!! She has her 6 month check up in a few weeks (ironically, we usually go within a week of Halloween - last year we went November 1st, of all the days to go to the dentist!) and I can't wait to hear what the dentist has to say about the newest state of her mouth.

In the meantime, the most pressing matters here at the house are WHEN will the tooth actually fall out and WHAT will the tooth fairy bring her? (Grandpa in NJ thought it was hilarious to tell Kiddo that the TF brings kids $100 for their first tooth. Mommy then told Grandpa that the TF also bills the grandparents for that service. Thanks a lot, Dad.) Kiddo, having just finished reading Ramona the Pest in which Ramona loses her first tooth and gets a whopping dime from the TF, has much more reasonably low expectations. Okay, we might cough up a dollar or perhaps a small toy type thing instead, but she's not getting any major cash, as much as my dad claims inflation. (Kiddo is now reading the first of the Paddington books, and professing, as Hubby and I both did at the same juncture in our lives, an overwhelming passion for marmalade.) I just really hope the tooth doesn't fall out at school, because that could be a major disaster. (DC - if you're reading this, be prepared! I'll letcha know if the tooth's still hanging in there come Monday morning...) I just hope it doesn't come out in her sleep (I remember wiggling my loose teeth with my tongue in bed at night) and then disappear, either down her gullet or into the cosmos. That baby tooth is miiiighty tiny! As a child, I once lost a tooth while spending the weekend at my grandparents' house. I saved it in a baggie to take home and leave under the pillow for the TF, rightly guessing that she wouldn't know to come to Nana and Pop's, and my grandmother had the audacity, when she came upon the baggie with my tooth tucked carefully into my suitcase, to throw it out!!! I was beyond distraught, and called my parents hysterically crying about how Nana threw my tooth out in the garbage. (Nana just didn't get what all the fuss was about. I don't think my dad and aunt ever were visited by the Tooth Fairy as kids...) Fortunately, Mom explained a loophole through which we could write the TF a letter explaining the lost tooth, and the TF came through - I had a quarter waiting under my pillow that next morning after arriving home. (Took me a loooong time to forgive Nana for that egregious crime, though...) While I'm sure Kiddo would understand such an explanation, I'd hate to have to give it to her for the very first lost tooth!

I ought to confess, I got a little choked up over this unexpected development. I mean, yeah, it could partly be due to PMS, but this is such incontrovertible evidence that Kiddo is getting BIG, and I wasn't expecting this for another year or two at least, so *sniff sniff* it got to me. (Kiddo is not quite yet five and a half...)

So, that's the latest development here in our corner of the world. After lunch (which she spent mainly looking at her tooth in the compact mirror I carry in my purse), Kiddo called all the relatives and friends to share the news, then put on her lion costume and we hit the pumpkin patch for our annual Halloween pictures. They're ridiculously adorable, if I do say so myself, so if anyone wants to see 'em, let me know and I'll hook you up. As always, I'm not posting them here because of the internet weirdos and all that, blah blah blah.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kids here get a nice shiny quarter for any and all teeth. Yes, we are cheap that way!

Oh, and Tita's first tooth came in that way as well and it eventually got pushed into the right position. Dentist told me that it is quite common so don't panic yet.

Ash said...

Oldest lost his about a month ago, just shy of his 6th birthday. Yes, I have finally figured out the cure for me feeling like a teenager trapped inside a 37-year-old woman's body, watching MY kids get older. Will age you in a second.

And is this the same Nana that let you roll out the back door of a speeding vehicle? Wow, that woman is COLD!

Em

Smoochiefrog said...

Seeing as I have tons (3 tadpoles worth) of experience here, I thought I'd offer my .02.

For the first tooth, our TF gives $5. Every tooth thereafter is worth .50. UNLESS there is some special circumstance involving the tooth. I.E. M has a tooth that was actually 2 fused together. She received $1 for that one.

I know what your dentist said, but don't worry too much about the tooth coming in behind the baby ones. All my tadpoles had that problem, and only 1 has needed braces so far.

*Knock on wood!*

In fact, M just lost her last top front tooth recently. Right before it came out, it had moved over to the point it was in the dead middle of the space left by her other front tooth. Snaggletooth was an understatement. :)

Gretchen said...

Whoa, okay the first loose tooth is very very exciting, I know. But if you lose the tooth, or if she swallows it, she's got like 19 more to milk for all the money the tooth fairy's got. Don't worry, it will be okay.

Peppermint patty lost her 3rd tooth when a kid fell on top of her, literally knocking it right into her mouth where she promptly swallowed it. I considered digging through the poop for it, and upon the first BM after the tooth-swallowing, I donned gloves and got a plastic fork, stared at the terd in the commode, and said, "eh, so much for that idea."

And, Charlie Brown is in a similar predicament. His upper front tooth has slowly been moving over, over, over and now there's a space where it looks like he's lost a tooth but really he hasnt. The adult tooth is pushing on the baby tooth but the adult tooth is too big to come into the space. The Dentist told me he'll probably need TWO sets of braces: one on the baby teeth to get them into position for the adult teeth, and then again once the adult teeth come in. I was like WHAT???? EXCUSE ME WE DON'T HAVE 12 GRAND TO BLOW, THANKS A LOT. We don't have orthodontia insurance (only dental) so I have no idea how we'd afford that. It's tough - I know both sets of braces would be BEST for him, but would it really be NECESSARY? Nobody got braces on baby teeth when I was a kid, and we all ended up with straight teeth after getting them only on our adult teeth. So why is this so important now? I'm all a fluster. Oh, by the way, Charlie Brown is 7. Hello, 7-year-old with braces??? I just can't see it.

Anna Lefler said...

Your blog is lovely! I love the voice and the philosophy behind it... (Plus, I love RAMONA THE PEST.)

Thanks for stopping by "my place" and leaving a comment - hope to see you again soon!

Have a great weekend...

:^) Anna

Ronnica said...

Wow, that's one crooked tooth! Yikes! I never had braces (or needed them), so I haven't seen something quite like that.

I totally think the TF should leave $5. I got a $1 when I was a kid, and a $1 today isn't worth as much, right?

Carrie said...

I say either leave the presidential gold dollar coins, $2 bills, or something like these tooth fairy coins.

I am definitely buying the coins and a few books to read to the midget!!

I think it doesn't have to be about the money, but just something a little special. Being a banker in my former life, I'm sure I'll find some slightly non-boring way to make it into a money lesson.

@TiffanyRom said...

We did a few silver dollars for the first tooth.. kind of like treasure.

It is sad when the baby teeth go... their face changes.

And, you SITS comment today had me rolling on the floor.

Tiffany

Unknown said...

Ahh, the first loose tooth. We are waiting for our first here (ds is 6 3/4 as he tells it) so any day I suppose one going to go loose.
What a big moment. Congrats! And yeah, inflation? Um, not in our house. Our son earns a whole whopping 1€ for cleaning per week, lol!

MJ said...

Funny to see this at this time. I was just going to get dental care, after having missed out on the free stuff as a child due to an adult tooth that did not grow from underneath the baby tooth, while I was in my teens.

Its taken over a decade to get to a point I could afford it. But it would cost 5000€ ($7500?). I have to get a mortgage.

Oh well, braces at 30 it is then.

Andy said...

Welcome to the club! Liam got a Webkinz for his first teeth, but they were pulled during surgery under general anesthetic, so it seemed like it needed something *big*

The one he lost 2 weeks ago he got $5.00. You can't buy anything but candy/gum for less then and that doesn't seem to go with the good hygene theme that the tooth fairy is trying to instill.

Dorkys Ramos said...

Thanks so much for the welcome!! I'm loving it already.

To this day I hate dentists with a passion!! And I had to suffer through braces for a couple years in jr high- not fun! And I don't even remember if I ever got money for my teeth...hmm, parents - I mean the tooth fairy- might have some debt to pay off...

Rick said...

With a shameless and overt plug, or rather invitation for you to visit my blog... you should show your daughter my Oct. 5th post for an illustrated explanation of just who the Tooth Fairy is...

Meridith said...

Well, Kiddo is NOT alone... I also had a few adult teeth come in BEHIND my baby teeth... and even had to have a couple of my baby teeth pulled (thankfully I come from a long line of dentist, so it was a free service.... but I do remember crying as my daddy gave me that aweful injection into my gums and seeing him tear up b/c he was hurting his baby girl.... but that's another story)...

WheresMyAngels said...

Story of Mercede'month, only almost all her front bottom teeth did that.
But I don't think she will go for braces. She screams at getting her teeth cleaned.