The Tooth

Here it is.  Maisey's front tooth.  It is sitting on the kitchen counter.  Not in her mouth where it belongs.  If you are wondering why it looks so long, it is because the entire root came out.  The tooth is just the bottom 1/3 of it and the rest is the root.  It is shocking and upsetting for your one year old to completely knock a tooth out, but if you put it in perspective, it's not that big of a deal.  I have friends whose children have crossed eyes, some who were born with red birthmarks on their faces or bodies, some who have extra fingers and toes, some who wear hearing aids or glasses.  All of these things are upsetting, but not really worth fretting about .  Am I sad that Maisey doesn't have the same cute smile with all of her baby teeth?  Yes, but I'll get over it.  It is purely cosmetic, doesn't require any surgery, and she'll eventually get a permanent tooth.

When people ask me what happened, I hate to start out by saying, "Well, I wasn't home when it happened...".  Kyle was watching the kids - but I know this wasn't his fault.  It could have happened to her under anyone's supervision.  Sometimes kids just fall down.  He had just returned from a trip to St. Louis with Malloy.  It was Mother's Day afternoon.  He told me to get out of the house and enjoy what what left of "my day".  I went shopping for a couple of hours.  On my way home, I received a somewhat frantic call from Kyle.  He said, "We've had a disaster.  Maisey's tooth came out".  That was about all I remember.  I was home less than five minutes later.  Kyle said Maisey was in our bedroom and just fell into the corner of our bed.  It is an upholstered bed frame, but it is wooden underneath the fabric.  She must have hit it just right, because the entire tooth came out.  He later found it on the floor.  We have several dentist/orthodontist friends.  I knew to put the tooth in milk if there was any chance of saving it.  The first person we got a hold of was Sanders Graf (orthodontist).  He was in the neighborhood so he came by to take a look.  He explained that the standard rule is to never try to reinsert a baby tooth.  There is a risk that it could mess up the development of a permanent tooth.  He called a pediatric dentist just to make sure and she confirmed that rule - don't try to put it back in.  "Such a shame" he said, it was such a perfect tooth to try to put back in.  All of the root still in tact.

Poor baby is going to be a snaggle tooth like her big sister...for a long time. Actually, I am going to more seriously pursue getting her a fake tooth.  I looked into it with Malloy, but my dentist discouraged it.  She said it was really hard to get it to look right and she had never had any patients that were happy with what she could do.  When Malloy lost her second tooth, the dentist said it was easier to make a partial/bridge to replace two teeth than just one, but at that point Malloy was four and I was used to her toothless smile.  Maisey, on the other hand, has a long, long time before it is "normal" to be missing a tooth.   Another pediatric dentist in town said she can make a bridge once the two year molars are in.  Fortunately, Maisey is an early teether and already has 14 teeth.  I hope those molars come in early!