A Comedy of Loose Teeth

Denise has already posted about some of the kids misadventures with the dentist (Dr. Branton Richter). Recently Charley and Joseph visited the orthodontist for the first time. The verdict: Charley is going to need braces sometime in this coming year. Joseph is going to need a retainer (or similar help) in the next year, but needed to have 3 teeth pulled immediately, so we scheduled another appointment with Branton for the extractions. One of these teeth was already loose, and so we figured we'd pull that one on our own and save a few of our pennies. While this was all going on, Sam was getting his first loose tooth. He was really excited because for years he's been watching Charley and Joseph get rich of missing teeth. (Holy Cow! Our tooth fairy pays out a whole dollar!) For a few nights in a row, Sam would ask me if I would wiggle his tooth. We had a deal worked out where he would let me put my hand in his mouth and move things around as long as stopped when it hurt (he'd let me know by saying "AAAHHH!!"). Sam really wanted to get his tooth out, but was really nervous about the pain, wanting to know exactly how much it's going to hurt and for how long.

While I'm wiggling Sam's teeth, Joseph starts to wiggle his loose tooth, which we can tell is on its way, but still has some serious root there - maybe a week or two before it's ready to come on its own. He asked me to feel how loose it was, so I reached in, felt that it was pretty loose, and without warning, cranked on it as hard as I could. The tooth fell to the ground, and Joseph started to wail. No doubt it hurt, but I really surprised his as well. While he was going through bloody napkins, Sam started hopping all over and breathing heavy. Denise and I had the same thought "Great, now Sam's never going to let us get his tooth out!", at which point Sam shoves his finger in my face and commands me "NOW YOU HAVE TO PULL MINE OUT. IF YOU DON'T YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY ME MONEY!!" ... really, I'm not sure where that last part came from.

So with a fresh napkin, once again I reach into Sam's mouth. I explained that it was going to hurt and that he was going to bleed. Unlike previous attempts, he kept his hands still to his side - not on my arms, breathing nervously, but resolute that he was going to lose his tooth that night. I had to laugh a little at the whole experience, but with one good yank, his tooth was in my hand. He didn't wince, he didn't cry. I showed him his tooth, and he said "That didn't hurt at all".

I'm pretty sure that the tooth fairy had to make an unexpected stop at the grocery store that night to pick up some extra cash.