Tooth Torture

I noticed a spot on Josiah's teeth a few weeks ago and set up dentist appointment. Even though Josiah brushes his teeth two or three times a day and eats a limited amount of sweets, he has already had five cavities filled and I was worried this was yet another one. It turns out one of his previous fillings didn't work and the tooth had become infected. So, we were referred to a pediatric dentist who could "fix" his tooth.

Josiah was in a great mood the day of his appointment. He got in the car before I even asked him to and was all smiles and good humor. He was delighted with the Superman pillow they gave him for his feet and was very cooperative while the dentist examined his teeth.

Things took a turn for the worse once the dentist decided she needed to pull the tooth. Do you watch Alias? This morning I had a flashback of watching the tooth extraction and it occurred to me that it was very similar to some of the torture scenes in Alias. The main difference was that instead of holding him down and yelling, "Tell us who you work for!" I was holding Josiah down and saying, "You're okay. You're doing a great job!" For his part, Josiah was writhing in agony and screaming. It was horrible. Like I said, I'm having flashbacks.

Josiah is feeling much better now. I bought him $30 worth of soft foods (applesauce, yogurt, ice cream, Popsicles, etc) and he spent the day watching videos and playing games. The next day he showed his missing tooth to all of his preschool friends and their parents, proudly declaring, "I lost my tooth! The dentist had to take it out. It had a cavity." The small Lego set the "tooth fairy" left under his pillow may have helped cheer him up.

Meanwhile, I am still in mourning for his tooth. This is one of my favorite photos of Josiah (taken before the tooth was pulled). Doesn't he have a handsome smile? It will be another five or six years before his adult tooth comes in (which means we have to go back to the dentist two more times to have a space maintainer fitted and installed). That's okay though. He's starting to lose some of his baby teeth naturally, so he'll be gap-toothed for awhile anyway. And it isn't his teeth that make his smile so wonderful, it's his personality and exuberance.