A Trip to The Dentist

Coral has beautiful teeth.

They are shiny white.

They are all straight...or at least they were...

Coral had her first visit with the dentist yesterday.

No Im not that mom that takes her baby to the dentist as soon as her first tooth pops out. Im not even the mom that remembers to brush her babies teeth everyday, twice a day, as recommended. Nope, this trip to the dentist was definitely unplanned.

Did any of you see that video I posted on Facebook of Coral bouncin away on her big girl bed? Coral loves to bounce and "jump". She jumps when she gets excited, she jumps when shes dancing. She jumps on the couch, she jumps on her bed. I know some parents would see that and think "she needs more discipline, she shouldn't be jumping on the couch." But it doesn't bother me. Personally, I feel as parents we have to pick and chose our battles when it comes to discipline. I will be tough on her with the issues that really matter to Andrew and I, but jumping and bouncing is not one of them. It can however, be slightly dangerous if say, your toddler does a big bounce and hits her mouth on the side of the bed. Gulp.

Andrew was in the room with her, and I walked into the room just in time to see it happen. There was a thud, followed by a scream. Now Coral is one tough little girl. She cried for only a few minutes, then was right back to her usual self running around, as her mouth was full of blood. Andrew and I tried every tactic to get her to open her mouth and show us her tooth. When she finally did, we saw that her tooth was loose, and now crooked. 

I was on the phone calling our dentist to see what we should do, and Andrew was texting our friend Jordan (whose wonderful fiance is a dental assistant). Both advised us to take her in and get her mouth looked at. The only problem was, it was 6:30 at night, and most dentists were closed. We stopped at four different dental offices, and finally the last one was open, and the dentist was willing to see her.

After all that, it turns out she is going to be fine. Her tooth is loose but should go back to normal in a little while. In the mean time she has to eat soft foods or liquids only. That also means she gets off the hook from me brushing her teeth for a few days which she will be quite glad about. She woke up today a bit grumpy, and acting like her mouth is in pain. Her gums around her tooth are swollen and her tooth is still loose.

I cannot tell you how sad it was to watch Coral go through that. Of course, I think it was more painful for me then it was for her. I also don't do very well with blood, and just the amount that was in her tiny little mouth was enough to make me dizzy....I just hope I never have to deal with stitches.

One little monkey jumpin on the bed.....