The Tooth Doctor

Two weeks ago Finley had his first trip to the dentist (aka the tooth Doctor).

Unfortunately his first visit was an unplanned emergency trip and not just his normal first check up.

THE INCIDENT:

Finley was playing on our futon upstairs and trying to get away from me when instead of grabbing the arm rest (made of wood), his hands missed and his front teeth caught him on his way down. OUCH! Poor little guy.

WARNING: Graphic pictures ahead!!!

THE TRAUMA:

His lip immediately started swelling up and as soon as I opened his mouth blood was dripping down his teeth.

The blood was coming from his gums which ended up being severed and hanging when the impact occurred. (sorry for the graphic nature of these pictures). I immediately called his regular doctor and they refereed me to a pediatric dentist. I rushed him over there and luckily no permanent damage had been done to his teeth. The X Rays did not show any trauma to the roots. That just left his dangling gum to deal with.



THE PROCEDURE:
The dentist thought that the best course of action and easiest recovery would be to cut off the dangling part of his gum. Finley did really well while they x-rayed him, checked his teeth, and gums up until it was time for the procedure. In order to cut off his gum they needed to strap him down to the table in this papoose looking wrap so he wouldn't be able to move his arms or legs.


As soon as I wasn't allowed to hold him anymore he lost it. Poor little fellow was crying and crying! Which of course made me completely break down in tears. I had been doing just great up until that point. The procedure was very quick and soon Finley was able to go and play while we waited to be discharged.



THE REWARD:
For doing such a good job and being such a brave boy the dentist gave him this cute stuffed bear (even though he is hugging the bear here in this picture, it should be noted that when the dentist tried to give him the bear immediately after the procedure he threw it to the ground). All in all I was very proud of Finley for doing such a great job and getting over the trauma very quickly. But this was not the first dentist visit I had in mind!

THE CHECK-UP:

Two weeks later we were back at the dentist so they could check on his gums.

I am amazed at how fast they healed up. The first day after the procedure his gum line looked really funny and David was worried about one gum line being significantly higher than the other (you know for when Finley is a model :)). But after only a week his gums looked completely normal and you can barely notice the gum line difference.

Our second trip to the dentist was much more laid back and enjoyable.

No longer were we nervous and anxious.

We had fun pointing out the animals in the jungle themed office.

We entertained ourselves by taking pictures of, well, ourselves and looking at them.

THE CLEANING:
After the check up on his gums was over the dentist offered to go ahead and do his first official check up while we were there. We learned about how to take care of our teeth and what things are good and bad for them. Then Finley had his teeth cleaned, counted, and they put some fluoride on his teeth. He was a little squirmy and whiny during the process, but he did really well (especially compared to the 6 year old that was running away from the dentist kicking and screaming).

Finley even practiced brushing these funny 'real' teeth on this monkey.

THE DISCHARGE:
The best part of our trip to the dentist was playing with this activity school bus after we finished the check up.

Finley was in heaven! This kid loves school buses!

I am glad that his first emergency visit to the 'tooth doctor' didn't permanently traumatize him. I think we are going to be alright.