A Well Deserved Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Up until a year ago, Morgan had done just fine at the dentist's office. Probably because she hadn't ever had a cavity and was able to tolerate (fairly well) the cleaning and suctioning noise. The dentist (not a pediatric dentist and definitely not great with kids) found her first cavity last fall. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment to get it filled along with having a baby tooth pulled per her orthodontist's recommendation. We took her in for the appointment. She got upset and nervous when they tried to put the nitrous mask on her to help her relax. We distracted her long enough for him to give her the shots. She got really mad and told him to quit pinching her! Then he turned on the drill. Not sure why I didn't think about the drill. I know how much she hates loud noises. We had to leave the house during some remodeling because she would cry and cover her ears every time they used the hammer. She freaked out when he tried to put the drill in her mouth and refused to open her mouth. He suggested we try in-office sedation instead of forcing her to cooperate. I'd never heard of anyone being sedated in the office and was a little hesitant. My insurance will only cover a Pediatric Dentist for children under 6 years old. It took me almost a year but I finally got the documentation the insurance needed to prove that Morgan needed a Pediatric Dentist even though she was 7 years old. We saw the dentist in May and Morgan refused to do x rays so he had to guess what she was going to need to have done. The one cavity had grown and looked like it might have abscessed and he could see a few other cavities. He was shocked that a dentist was considering using sedation in his office on a patient with Down syndrome considering their fragile airways. Tremendous relief that I pushed my insurance for the Pediatric Dentist. We scheduled her surgery for August in the children's hospital.

Playing with the toys in the Same Day Surgery waiting room

They gave her Versed to help with her anxiety. Luckily they brought her this cute doll to color a few minutes after she got the medicine because she colored this doll and just a few minutes later was unable to stand or talk.

When I carried her over to the wagon, she got a big smile and said "Wheeeeeee. I'm flying!" She was wheeled in the wagon into the OR by the Anesthesiologist. She couldn't even hold her head up from the medicine. It's so hard to watch your child be taken away from you when you know she is going into surgery. Even though she has been in the hospital several times for pneumonia, it's been a long time since she's had surgery. 6 years ago. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was almost two years old.

The dentist called me in the waiting room after he took the x rays to let me know the plan. He needed to crown one bottom molar, pull 5 baby teeth to make room for the permanent teeth so they will come in straight and in the right place, pull 1 baby molar that was abscessed, Fill a cavity on a top tooth, and put sealers on all of the other teeth.

Waking up from the anesthesia

Before her surgery, Morgan had lost 7 teeth and never been excited about the Tooth Fairy. She hated the idea of the tooth coming out of her mouth and didn't want anything to do with it. She usually threw the tooth across the room before we could even see it. It had almost been a year since her last tooth had fallen out and I wanted to try the Tooth Fairy idea again. She deserved some sort of reward for losing 6 teeth in a day. Griffin had never heard about the Tooth Fairy and was getting so excited listening to me explain it to Morgan. It's so fun to still have little ones around. They bring so much magic and excitement into the home. My older kids just tell me, "I lost a tooth. Do you want to give me the money now or do I need to put it under my pillow?" I asked Morgan what she wanted the Tooth Fairy to bring her (since she doesn't care about money). She thought for a minute and said, "a cat!" Gavin and I tried to make sure we understood her. "Did you mean a book? or candy?" "No. A cat. Meow. Meow." She definitely earned herself a new little kitten but that wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't let me put the teeth under her pillow. Too close for comfort. So I put them on her dresser. Still a little too close. She asked me to put them on the very end of the dresser, as far away from her bed as possible.

She (and Griffin) was very excited to wake up and see the surprise left by the Tooth Fairy .

Showing off her new toothless smile. Hopefully those permanent teeth will come in sooner than later!