Toothless...

One of the most recent insane things that happened to my family was when my 14 month old lost her first baby tooth in a weird accident.  When family members kept asking me for the run down on what exactly happened how did Charlotte lose her tooth, I wrote this and started thinking maybe I should be writing a blog about my crazy life with these girls!!! So here it goes…

One day I had just stepped into the shower and of course Charlotte cried for me, so Andre lifted her up so she could see me better, and yes she put her mouth on the top of the shower door.  I told her no mouth, then Andre went to take her down, and the screams came next, and then the blood!  I freaked out, of course, and even Andre did a little when I handed him a wet rag to put on her lip (I figured she somehow cut her lip), and he pulled it away to show me and realized the tooth was sticking out of her mouth and then was in his hand. I am yelling at him, "OH MY GOD ANDRE, OH MY GOD HER TOOTH, and SHE IS BLEEDING! OH MY GOD, We need to go to the ER, NOW, Right NOW! LET’S GO!”

I am shaking but try hard to calm down some when I see my husband face, and my older daughter running to hide in her room.  I went to get a popsicle to help stop the bleeding and to distract Charlotte from the chaos, and suddenly she is FINE!  I decided the ER was probably no longer necessary and called our dentist (he's family). As my husband calmly takes his shower and gets ready to leave, I am anxious and impatient.  The Dentist said if had stopped bleeding there is really not much to do but make sure it came out all in one piece...which it did and heals correctly.

35 minutes in L.A. traffic to the other side of town, and all I can think about is how she won't have her first baby tooth for years until the adult tooth comes in later. Will it affect her speech, will it be harder to eat, will she need braces, and will she be teased?  All the while can't cry, though I really want to.  I am sitting in backseat with the girls, to hold my daughters hand and be supportive, yes my husband is driving, since I am a wreck...not fully showered. Yet both girls are laughing and playing, so I realize I am the only one who needs support!!

The Dentist said it was a fairly clean pull, went forward a little so she may be sore for awhile, back to applesauce, and softer! Great, I just got used to her having two teeth, and ready for the tops to come in as well, now back to one. Most likely it will heal just fine, but her adult tooth "bulb" (makes the tooth grow and come out), may have been damaged and only time will tell or an X-ray later on, if it was damaged enough to keep her adult tooth from ever forming and coming in. He said if she was a model, she could have a fake put in, but he's never seen it at her age, and they do not recommend it since it is glued in and you run the risk of infections and of her possibly swallowing it!

Charlotte was really fine after that, and her mouth is almost completely healed and it’s been almost two weeks since the accident. Charlotte got the most upset when I told her she could not have crackers! (She is eating them now though) We go back in 6 months for a check up...and that's it!  It took a few days for my heart to heal, yes I cried for 2 or 3 days, but talking to family helped and after that my stomach stopped lurching every time she smiled and it started to make me smile too again. I am not sure looking back, why it affected me so much, but it emotionally I was all over the map. You try to guard and protect you kids from so many things and then something so random and unreal happens and I felt out of control completely, and that I had failed as a mother. 

Well life just gets hard sometimes, but now, her first top tooth is already breaking through the gums. Life doesn’t stop for you to deal, it just keeps going.

Lots of love to all,

Bonnie

Charlotte shows off her mouth at the Dentist