During Jazzie's first visit to the orthodontist a couple of weeks ago, it was recommended that Jazzie get four teeth pulled. Her teeth are crowding her mouth and the teeth on either side of her middle front teeth were not able to come down because her k-nines were in the way. So today I took Jazzie to her dentist to get the job done.
Jazzie was very nervous because she kept thinking about the last time she got teeth pulled. About a year ago Jazzie had 6 teeth pulled (including two extra baby teeth). We saw an oral surgeon for that since some teeth were still inside the gums and had to be dug out. I tried to explain to Jazzie that it was not going to be as bad this time, since the teeth that were going to be pulled were not inside the gums. But of course she was still nervous.
When we got there, the dentist pulled me aside and told me that since her teeth were deeply rooted, he wasn't expecting it to be easy. My heart sank. I was told it was not going to be a big deal at first, but now I wasn't so sure. But we were already there, Jazzie was prepared and I really didn't want to prepare her for yet another appointment, so we decided to go ahead and see how she would do. She got some laughing gas and a local anesthesia. She did great with that. Then it came time to pull the teeth and Jazzie did so well. Her legs were shaking, but other than that she did not make a sound. The teeth were out before I even knew it. I was so proud of my girl. She has gone through SO much and every time she amazes me with how brave she is and how well she deals with everything that is thrown her way. Even the dentist mentioned how he did not expect her to to do this well.
Jazzie has always been and continues to be my super star...
After biting down on some gauze she was given some liquid Tylenol which ran right out of her mouth because it was so numb that she couldn't feel it :-) She then got a popsicle for on the way home which she happily ate. However, she had melted popsicle juice running all the way down her chin and neck, because she couldn't feel it. By the time we got to school she was worried about not being able to eat her lunch, so I told her I would stay in case she needed help. I am glad I decided to stay because she couldn't feel the straw when she tried to take a drink and she had a hard time finding her mouth.
Once again Jazzie has a toothless smile and who knows how long it will be before they'll grow in. At only 7 years old, she has had 10 teeth pulled already. But since all this means that Jazzie will have beautiful and straight teeth in the end, it's all worth it. I hope the tooth fairy brings plenty of cash to leave under her pillow tonight.